The End of Dawn
by rohitmitra5752
Summary: The Akatsuki are on the move. The most terrifying organization ever to walk the Five Elemental Nations. With the Nations and their Hidden Villages deep embroiled in their thought, a group of Ninjas rise up to meet the challenge. Will the Akatsuki be too much for them, or will they be able to finally bring an end to their tyranny. Rated T just to be safe.
1. The Yoinokuchi : Part 1

_Hi Guys, this is my first fanfiction. I'm not really good at Japanese, but I've used every possible resource available to come up with names that I felt where authentic. Read it and review it. I was heavily influenced by one other fanfiction - Hakumei. Also I know that the name Yoinokuchi has been used in more than one fanfic, but hey I couldn't come up with a better name even if I tried to. The original chapter that I had written was nearly 6000 words long, so I decided to split it into 2 chapters. Read it and review it._

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

_**"JUTSU"**_

* * *

Kakashi Hatake, the son of the legendary White Fang of Konoha, watched in abject horror as he saw one of his team members - no one of his students - crushed to her death under a pile of rocks. Sakura Haruno was dead. He turned around to look at her killer - Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Mist. He grit his death flaring up his chakra to inhuman proportions. Sakura had attacked Zabuza, and with one swipe of his Zanbato, he sent Sakura sprawling over to a cave. The moment she landed, he threw an explosive kunai at the cave, collapsing it and killing her. Kakashi was going to kill him - no matter the cost. Zabuza smirked from beneath the bandages that wrapped his head. He held his Zanbato in one hand, and in the other hand, he held a large ball of water - the Water Prison Jutsu. Within the sphere of water, Kakashi watched as he saw his other 2 genins - Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame, struggle to hold their breath in and survive this ordeal. Kakashi himself wasn't sure whether that was possible. But he would rather face Kami before he abandoned his comrades.

"Your fight is here with me, Hatake. Let Zabuza have his fun".

Kakashi turned around just in time to dodge a great bandaged blade come swinging at him. The blade was none other than Samehada and the wielder was Kisame Hoshigaki. As if the sword's cackling wasn't maniacal enough, Kisame looked like a human shark, with gills in his face, and fish-like eyes. Unlike Zabuza, who was wearing a black shirt and baggy pants, Kisame was wearing donning a black coat with red clouds on it. He was a member of the Akatsuki. Kakashi knew that he couldn't use Ninjutsu since Samehada could absorb it, and Genjutsu just wouldn't cut it with Kisame; he had to use Taijutsu to win against him. But even then, Kisame was a monster of strength and stamina. As he kept deflecting the attacks and parrying his sword with his kunai, his mind was thinking back to his team - Team 7. One member was dead, while the other two were dying and their Jounin instructor was locked in battle with one of the deadliest swordsmen in the Five Elemental Nations. He thought back to the incidents that lead to this devastating encounter.

_Flashback_

"KAKASHI SENSEI! GET YOUR NOSE OUT OF THAT PERVERTED BOOK".

Kakashi looked up to see a fuming Sakura in front of him. He eye-smiled and pocketed the book. "Now now Sakura, no need to throw off Killing Intent like that for a simple book. That would be Anko's job"

Kiba smirked, "Yeah Sakura, let Kakashi Sensei read his smut. With no one to go out with, a man has to use his imagination; and what better way that to read smut"

Shino, the stoic of the group, said nothing.

"BAKA! STOP ENCOURAGING THE PERVERT", screamed Sakura. He hit Kiba with her fist and sent him through the wall of a nearby compound.

Kakashi smiled at Team 7. It was the only family he had now.

Shino, was from the Aburame clan; so he wasn't much of a speaker. As expected from an Aburame. He had a black sunglass on him, and his face was covered in his coat that he used to cover the rest of his body with as well. Kakashi half expected to find nothing but bugs if he ever opened the coat. His Taijutsu and Ninjutsu was average, Genjutsu non-existent.

Sakura, wasn't from any clan. Both her parents were civilians, though he could never remember their names, faces or their jobs. She had been one of the foremost Sasuke Uchiha fan-club members, rivaled by none other than Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka clan. She used to dress up, go on diets and fawn over Sasuke in the academy. But all that changed. 5 years ago, Sasuke Uchiha went missing. It wasn't sure whether Itachi had killed his brother (although they never found his body), kidnapped him or did Sasuke willingly run away with Itachi. But things were never the same with Sakura. She believed that Sasuke was kidnapped, and she sought to grow stronger to help him get back to the village. That determination helped her grow from a fan-girl to a strong genin. She still has her feelings for Sasuke, but they are now tempered with the strength she has grown into.

And lastly there was Kiba. He and Akamaru were always the most loud and boisterous of the group. Yelling unnecessarily and drawing attention to himself. It looked like he was the second coming of Naruto.

Naruto. Kakashi smirk disappeared and a sorrow filled his eyes. Naruto Uzumaki, the village pariah, the bane of Konoha, has been dead for 5 years now. On the very day that the Uchiha brothers went missing, Naruto was found brutally slaughtered in his apartment. Naruto had just befriended Sasuke Uchiha; and all those who knew of the Uchiha arrogance had to know that Sasuke's friendship with Naruto was just so wrong. The Uchihas prided in being one of the founding clans of the village, they would never fall so low as to befriend a lowly village pariah. There had to be something more. The a week later, Shisui Uchiha was found dead; investigation revealed that it was none other than Itachi who had killed him, possibly in a bid to achieve the Mangekyou Sharingan. And that is what caused the doubt in the minds of many a Shinobi. Had Sasuke befriended Naruto, just so he could kill him and achieve his Mangekyou. Fugaku Uchiha and Mikoto Uchiha, parents of the siblings were devastated at the news - both of their children were no more in the village. The Inuzuka clan, who never thought much of the Uchiha clan's arrogance, were the first ones to openly voice that Sasuke had murdered Naruto. This idea caught on like wildfire amongst the villagers, and much to the dismay of many a Shinobi, Sasuke was viewed as the hero that delivered them from the devil. But the fact was that without evidence, Sasuke couldn't be convicted. As a result, Sasuke was stated as simply missing, while Itachi was labeled as a S-Rank Missing Nin from Konoha.

Sakura never held to the belief that Sasuke would die, nor that he could murder his friend Naruto. She had seen them in the academy a couple of times. Since becoming friends with him, Sasuke started smiling, and Naruto would keep Sasuke away from her and her fellow fangirls. Sasuke could never kill him just for more power. She firmly believed that Itachi had kidnapped Sasuke, and either he or one of the villagers had killed Naruto. Even though she never liked him, she missed his antics.

Kiba and Kakashi however believed that Sasuke has fallen to the Uchiha's power hungry ways and killed Naruto. Shino, acting the perfect stoic, never let anyone see his true feelings on this issue. Kiba always liked Naruto and his pranks; he was one of the few who actually missed him. Kakashi had a more personal stake in this. Naruto was his Sensei's student. His true name was Naruto Namikaze, son of Minato Namikaze, Sensei to Kakashi Hatake, and the legendary Yondaime Hokage. Kakashi always looked up to Minato like a father, since his own father had committed Seppuku when Kakashi was very young. In effect, Naruto was like his brother. Being an ANBU he couldn't always keep an eye on Naruto. He infact had been out on a mission, when Naruto was murdered; he was devastated when he heard the news.

"We're here to meet Lord Hokage". Sakura's voice brought Kakashi back to the world of the living. He was standing in front of the Hokage's office as the secretary ushered them in. "Lord Hokage will see you know".

"Ah, Kakashi! Good to see you back." The Hokage was looking worse for wear. Ever since Naruto's murder, he felt terrible guilt as not being able to save his successor's legacy, and that he had broken his promise to Minato. "We have a couple of D-Rank missions -"

"NO! We are tired of catching that devil-spawned cat for the Daimyo's wife. We want some C-Rank missions". Kiba was right. Even Kakashi was tired of that god-forsaken cat.

"BAKA! THAT IS NO WAY TO TALK TO THE HOKAGE! Sorry Lord Hokage, Kiba just doesn't know when to -" screamed Sakura. She had Kiba in a death grip while beating his head.

"But its true. That's what all of us want. GAAAK! My… throat...No Air…." Sakura had just wrapped her arm round his neck slowly wringing the life out of the Inuzuka heir.

"Hn". Well you don't expect more than that from Shino

Kakashi spoke up. "I think that the team is ready for a C-Rank, Lord Hokage. Sakura, release Kiba unless you want to be charged with the murder of a fellow Shinobi". Kakashi's eye smile was a bit unnerving for Sakura. She let go of Kiba. "Oh God…. Sweet sweet air"

"There is an escort mission to Wave Country. You have to guard a bridge builder named Tazuna. Please get Tazuna in". A drunk old man stepped in. "Hey. I ordered a couple of Ninja; I get a cyclops, two creeps and a guy with pink hair".

"I am a girl". Sakura sounded hurt.

"Well, its not my fault. You're flat chested, you know - ". Before Tazuna could finish, Sakura launched herself at him. Kakashi caught her midair."I WILL RIP YOUR GUTS OUT, YOU BOOZE FREAK". "Now now Sakura, it wouldn't do us any good if you kill our client" Kakashi said with an eye smile.

After a few moments, they were on their way to Wave country. Soon they were attacked by a pair of Ninjas known as the Demon Brothers. Kakashi came to know that they were hired by a man named Zabuza, who inturn was hired as a help for someone else. (Canon material, but with the new Team 7. Stuff on Gato and the condition of the Wave country)

Soon, they were attacked by none other than the Demon of the Mist Zabuza. Kakashi asked the genins to stay back and protect Tazuna, while he dealt with Zabuza. The battle didn't drag on for long and soon Zabuza was able to capture Kakashi in a water prison, but it turned out that the one that was captured was a water clone. The real Kakashi had his Sharingan out and started an all out Ninjutsu battle. Jutsu after jutsu clashed against each other. Soon it became evident that Kakashi had the upper hand.

"I have to end this Zabuza. It was a pleasure knowing you" smirked Kakashi. He formed a set of hand signs. "_**CHIDORI!**_". The air was filled with the sound of a thousand birds chirping. Kakashi charged forward to finish Zabuza off. Suddenly, he felt someone behind him, he turned just enough to see a black cloak with a pattern in red. He couldn't make out any more; a white bandaged covered object came hurtling towards him, it looked like a mace. Before he could figure it out, he felt a huge blow connect with his shoulders. He felt the drain of the chakra and found himself flying towards his students. The mist shrouded his unknown assailant. A voice floated from within the mist "We shall meet again Hatake." Kakashi passed out soon after. Kiba carried Kakashi all the way back to Tazuna's house.

The next few days, Kakashi trained his genin in Chakra control by Tree Walking. Sakura advanced to Water Walking as well. They took turns in protecting Tazuna on the bridge. This had finally led to the current day. Kakashi decided to take his entire team to the bridge to help speed it up. When they reached, they saw the dead bodies littered all over the bridge. In the clearing, they could see Zabuza, but this time with an accomplice - the infamous Kisame Hoshigaki. Kakashi asked Tazuna to stay back with Sakura, while Shino and Kiba were to engage Zabuza. Kakashi himself would face Kisame. The very next moment, Kiba charged in with Shino asking him to stop and rethink their strategy; still Shino backed him up with his attacks. Zabuza smiled as he used the water near the bridge to form a water prison around his two targets; seeing this Sakura immediately jumped to their aid. Zabuza simply swung his Zanbato, and Sakura was flying over to a cave in clearing.

_End Flashback_

Kakashi was nearing exhaustion. His chakra reserves were quite high, even for some Jounin, but he was facing Kisame Hoshigaki, no pushover. His monstrous reserves were equivalent to a Bijuu. Kakashi was prepared to die; he just wished he could do more for his team mates. Resigned to fate, Kakashi was panting, when the unexpected happened. He felt two Chakra signatures land behind him; He turned around to notice two masked Ninjas (or at least he hoped they were Ninja). They wore similar clothes; they had a white Haori, open at the front to reveal a black vest and beige pants. The lower hem of the white Haori had a wavy Deep Blue pattern, a color similar to the night sky - more black than blue, but having a tinge of blue somewhere. The both wore black masks with two slits for their eyes. One of them had a Spiky Black hair; something was oddly familiar about the hair; he had a Hitai-ate on his forehead with the Kanji for Yoinokuchi. His companion wore his Hitai-ate like a bandana covering his hair; the same symbol - Yoinokuchi. With all their features, their heights left something to be demanded; they were barely 2 inches taller than his genin team. By all rights, they should be no older than 13. They stepped forward in front of Kakashi. He could see that their Haori had a writing on their backs. The one with the spiky hair had Raijin written on his back, while the one with Bandana had Arashi written on his back. Raijin had a Katana across his back, while Arashi had a Kodachi secured within his belt.

Raijin spoke up. "Kakashi Hatake, listen to what I have to say. Arashi will engage Zabuza. Once he lets go of the water prison, take your team and protect the old guy. I will take care of Kisame. I have a sensei to avenge."

Arashi performed a Shunshin and appeared behind Zabuza and kicked him hard; he brought up his Zanbato to block him. At near impossible speeds that rivalled Maito Guy, he turned around pivoting on the blade and kicked Zabuza on his undefended side. Zabuza let go of the prison as he was blown across the length of the bridge. At the same time, Raijin attacks Kisame with an array of Ninjutsu attacks.

"_**Katon: Great Fireball**_" shouted Raijin as a huge fireball sped towards Kisame. Kisame simply lifted Samehada and absorbed the fire. "Damn". Raijin finally let go of Ninjutsu and attacked using Kenjutsu/Taijutsu attacks.

Kakashi looked in awe at the speed and ferocity of these midget-sized ninja. Even though they looked young, they were clearly at Jounin level of skill. Their chakra control seemed a bit haywire and their reserves were something he doubted would be able to match their opponents. Kakashi snapped out of this and raced towards his genin; both of them were coughing out water from their lungs. He grabbed them by the scruff and landed in front of the bridge builder as they all watched the battle unfold in front of their eyes.

* * *

A spiky white haired man was standing atop a rocky vantage point looking at the bridge in the distance. He could make out that there was a battle waging. He looked at his two students - a brother and sister. 'Funny', he thought, 'both have hair of the same length. It is difficult to say who is who from behind them.' "Could you tell me what you can see".

"Hai Jiraiya Sensei!".Both his students lifted their face to meet the eyes of their sensei. They were the pale pupil-less lavender eyes of the Hyuuga. "_**BYAKUGAN**_", they shouted in unison as they again faced the bridge. The boy spoke up first. "I can sense 7 people. Two of them are fighting the other two. While the rest are staying out of the fight." The girl said "I concur with Neji-neesan. I see the same."

"Alright, stay back you two" Jiraiya said raising his hand towards Neji and the girl. "I don't want to lose my best Taijutsu student and a Fuuinjutsu prodigy over a simple fight like this". The girl shied and said, "I am not a prodigy, just very good at it". Neji shook his head and said, "No Hinata-sama; you are a prodigy. Using your knowledge of Fuuinjutsu and Byakugan, you were able to remove the curse on me." Jiraiya smiled at the siblings. 'Hinata and Neji are bound for greatness'. But right now he needed to focus on the fight. He himself had no stakes in the fight other than save the Konoha ninjas. However, if what he heard was true, the Yoinokuchi might be as great a threat as the Akatsuki, given the nature of people involved in the group; he needed to find out more. He made a hand seal and vanished in a puff of smoke.

* * *

_Yosh! The flames of youth have allowed me to finish this youthful chapter. Now Gai-Sensei will explain the meanings of a couple of the names that were used in the chapter._

**Akatsuki** (for all those who don't know) - _Dawn_

**Yoinokuchi** - _Evening/Nightfall_

**Raijin** - _God of Lightning_

**Arashi** - _Tempest/Storm_

* * *

_Liked it? Disliked it? Doesn't matter, please review the story. I have the second chapter done, but would like to get some feedback so that I can improve on any aspect that you may find lacking before I upload it. Please please review. They are like the life force of us writers. Also you should Favorite/Follow it to keep on track with the story. I'll keep updating every week (yup, unfortunately I have a life outside of writing fanfics; I have an office, where I have to code and do stuff, so I might be a bit busy on some days)._


	2. The Yoinokuchi : Part 2

A/N: "Thank you for the reviews guys. And shame on you guys who read the story but didn't review. It breaks my heart you know. ((SOB)). Seriously though, without the reviews I don't even know how many guys appreciate my awesome writing and whether I am doing a good job or a great job."

"Or a piss ass job" "SHUT UP TEME". "Hnn"

_Kedo: Interesting start, a somewhat refreshing take on on the whole Naruto story. Hope you give us some flashbacks later on to show what happened between Naruto, Sasuke, Itachi and Jiraya, Hinata and Neji. Continue your work, I am waiting for the next chapter. _**Don't worry, it'll take quite a number of flashbacks to explain everything. But I WILL explain everything. ((Flashes the good guy pose))**

_Shinobi of Life: I like that you don't bash on sakura and gave what a normal person would feel if that happened to someone they care and trully believed that he wouldn't done that. NaruHina and SasuSaku !_ **I really don't think bashing a character would do any good. Every character has it's history and reasons. Let understand and respect the reasons. Unnecessary basing gets us nowhere.**

_guest 7: great so far...  
I would like info on the age of characters & how neji is not a part of team 9 & how uchiha clan is still intact despite itachi getting MS or shisui is also faking death like naruto..!?  
& who are the people who know naruto is alive as jiraya does'nt know as he could'nt figure out those two on the bridge...?  
Everything is piquing my curiosity & i hope you don't bash any character much.  
All in all very good & interesting work, want next chapter ASAP._

**Sir yes sir, the next chapter has been presented ASAP, sir! Lots of questions, and I'm happy to answer them all. :)**

**I am following the canon age, so Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Sakura, Kiba, Shino are all 13 years. Neji is a year older than them as is Rock Lee and Tenten, so they are 14 years. As for the rest of the questions you have ... Ku Ku Ku Ku, all will be revealed in time. No seriously, I will. Hope you like this one. Although, I am doing a very poor job in revealing the secrets just yet. He he he. ((Mischievous Grin))**

* * *

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

"_**JUTSU**_"

* * *

CLANG. Raijin met Kisame's Samehada with his Katana. He had tried to funnel his lightning chakra into the katana, but Samehada simply absorbed it, cackling maniacally. It was quite unnerving to hear a sword laugh like that. Ninjutsu had no effect, and Kisame matched Raijin blow for blow. The battle didn't seem to be going either way. Arashi didn't seem any better. With Zabuza's other hand free, he was able to block blows from Arashi while also being able to perform hand seals for Ninjutsu. Arashi kept using high-speed Shunshin to jump all around Zabuza; Kakashi could easily see the battle through his Sharingan, but for the rest of Team 7, all they could see was a blur that kept attacking Zabuza. The problem was Zabuza was more than a match for that speed. And every other block by Zabuza would be followed by a Suiton attack. Instead of using any jutsu, Arashi simply dodged the attacks. He simply dodged the jutsus as best he could any launched a tirade of punches at Zabuza. Kakashi noticed that. 'I wonder why he is not using Ninjutsu. Maybe he can't like that student of Gai, Rock Lee.' "Suiton:Great Shark Bullet"; a humongous shark made out of water leaped into action gnashing its teeth as it made its way towards Arashi. 'He can't dodge this', though Kakashi. To his surprise, Arashi made a couple of hand seals; 'Kage Bunshin! So it seems he can use Ninjutsu'. Ten Kage Bunshin appeared in front of Arashi. Using the other clones as leverage, the original Arashi swerved out of the path of the destructive jutsu. Kiba and Shino looked on in wonder as the battle unfolded in front of their eyes - they knew they were seriously out of class here. The only one who could even keep up with these monsters was Kakashi Sensei.

Kisame looked like he got bored with the Taijutsu fight, so he made a couple of quick hand seals "Suiton: Exploding Water Colliding Wave". As a huge surge of water seemed to appear from KIsame's mouth, aided with the water surrounding the bridge, Raijin jumped back to break away from the massive waves crashing down on his position . "You know, its been a while since I fought anyone as good as you. And one look at Zabuza tells me that he is having fun with your friend there as well. But thats beside our mission. We were sent to kill Tazuna. And that's what we'll do." Kisame smirked and yelled out. "Zabuza! Water Clone". Zabuza gave a curt nod. They both created a water clone and sent it after Team 7 and Tazuna. As soon as Raijin and Arashi understood their plan, they jumped to intercept the clones, but were blocked by their opponents. It was all up to Kakashi now.

Kakashi watched as his unexpected backup was blocked by the Swordsmen duo while their water clones charged at him and his team. He stood up and prepared to face down with the two monsters. "Kiba, Shino. Stay behind me and protect Tazuna." He brought his Kunai; little help that would be against those massive Zanbato his opponents were wielding. Samehada, a massive Zanbato that sapped the opponent of any Chakra on contact. Kakashi had experienced this before during his battle with Zabuza. And Kubikiribocho. It truly lives up to its name. Kakashi steeled himself from the inevitable. Moments away from clashing with them, Kakashi noticed a chakra signature arrive via Shunshin. The two swordsmen must have noticed it as well, as they cranked their heads slightly towards the dense forest. Almost on queue, a flurry of Senbon needles rained down on the duo. The Kisame and Zabuza clones jumped back to avoid becoming a pincushion. As they steadied themselves, a figure jumped from the trees and landed in front of Kakashi. It was a she; Kakashi had read enough of the Icha Icha series to figure out a woman's curves. She wore the same Haori as the other Yoinokuchi members with the writing Koorihime on her back; her hair was knotted up in a bun, and she carried a small pouch on her hip - possibly for storing the Senbons she had just thrown at them. Koorihime noticed her partners engaged in their respective fights; she took up a fighting stance, her left foot in front of her, right foot behind her; her arms were raised in front of her with open palms. Kakashi noted that this was a defensive stance; she wasn't really interested in engaging the clones, but if push came to shove, she would defend Tazuna and Team 7. Kakashi smiled inwards knowing that they had friends in the strangers who took up arms against the swordsmen duo.

Raijin jumped back from his fight with Kisame to create some space between them. "You took your sweet time to get here, Koorihime. Was there any problem?" asked Raijin.

Koorihime relaxed a bit. "Well you were right; Gato sent a couple of thugs to kidnap Tsunami and Inari - they wanted to hold them hostage. Although I made short work of them, Inari surprised me with a sudden boost of confidence. After that I raced as fast as I could to get here" She cocked her head and said with a sarcastic tone, "I would think you were better than wanting help from me".

"Shut up Koorihime. I don't want your help."

Koorihime tensed up. The clones were about to make their move. She was waiting for them, Senbon needles in her hand, ready to strike her opponents. Kakashi stood up alongside her and gave a short nod of approval; his manner of saying 'You've got me by your side'. Kakashi glanced at Koorihime features. He wouldn't go as far to say that she was well endowed, but he could make out the curves from within the black vest in her Haori. Her Hitai-ate was on her waist, kind of like a belt. Also she seemed a bit taller than her other members, she seemed to be a bit older than the other 2. Koorihime saw Kakashi glancing at her. "Stop ogling me and focus on the opponents in front of us". He quickly straightened up, trying to hide his guilty lecherous smile from Koorihime (all that Icha Icha … shame on Kakashi and Jiraiya); although it was doubtful she could see anything from under his mask.

But before anyone could make their moves (other than Arashi and Zabuza, who were still at each other), a large pop was heard and smoke filled the bridge; Arashi and Zabuza jumped back from each other to make more sense of the newest arrival. Kakashi thought it was another Yoinokuchi member, but noticing their tense stance, he figured that they weren't expecting anyone. It would mean that either they didn't have any more operative in the area, or that these 3 members were all that was of Yoinokuchi. The last thought disturbed Kakashi, since he knew that there were far greater trials and tribulations in front of them, if the 3 were all of Yoinokuchi. He glanced up to watch the clones reaction; it seemed they didn't expect anyone either. With bated breath, they waited for the smoke to clear. The smoke dissipated to reveal a white spiky haired guy atop a toad. Jiraiya.

Seeing Jiraiya, Kisame straightened up. He slung Samehada over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off his opponent.."Zabuza, taking on a Sannin alongside these guys is a bit too much even for us. Looks like its time for our retreat. I'll have to talk to Gato about the mission later again." The clones dispersed into water, while the two swordsmen sprang to action and fled into the forest.

"Get back here Kisame. I have a score to settle with you" Raijin sprang into action, starting to tail them, but Jiraiya jumped in front of him. "I don't think chasing after them would be such a good idea. They have the advantage for ambush. Besides, I think your work here is not done." Kakashi noted a bitter tone of resentment in his voice. He knew that Jiraiya must have had some knowledge on this mysterious group and their leader Raijin, that caused him to grimace like that. However, Jiraiya was a Shinobi; he knew to place the lives of others over his personal feelings. Raijin turned back towards the other end of the bridge. Arashi and Koorihime had fallen into formation behind him. He looked past Arashi into the mist, and noticed something. Something others couldn't. "Arashi, it looks like Gato is back with his army. Get rid of them".

In a blink, Arashi was on the other end of the bridge, his Kodachi in hand, slashing mercilessly at the army. His speed coupled with his movements turned him into a storm of blades as the bandit army turned into a gory mess of blood, guts and dismembered limbs. All that was left was Gato. Gato had soiled himself seeing the ferocity of the masked man; he would offer anything for his life - but before he could do so, Arashi had sliced his head off his shoulders. He caught the head by the tuft of its hair and Shunshin-ed to Raijin's side. By the time, Tsunami and Inari managed to gather a couple of villagers and arrive at the bridge to take care of the bandits only to be faced with one of the most brutal scenes they had seen in their lives. Inari tried hard, but wretched himself, while Tsunami closed her eyes and turned around, covering Inari from the horrendous sight. Raijin took the head from Arashi's hand and tossed it towards Tsunami. "We have completed our deal."

Kakashi raised his eyebrows are looked deep and hard at Tsunami. Raijin noticed that and spoke up "Tsunami wasn't confident in your team; the way you returned after your encounter with Zabuza was more than proof of that. She needed someone who could actually protect the geezer, so a couple of days ago she approached me and my group to help in disposing the threat of Gato. Naturally we accepted. We had an inkling that these 2 would make their move today, so we asked Koorihime to protect Tsunami and the kid while we dealt with the threat Tazuna was under. The rest is as you know."

He turned towards Tsunami. "I will send someone over to collect on our payment. Kakashi and his team will assist a group of villagers to raid Gato's outposts. Hopefully, the money and food there should cover for any damages that he had caused during his tyrannical reign." He cocked his head towards Kakashi. "You will help, won't you?" Kakashi made an eye smile. "Of course"

With that, before anyone could say anything more, the three Shunshin-ed away. Jiraiya looked slightly angry and pissed. Kakashi had never seen him like this. He approached the team, "You two brats, accompany Tazuna and the other villagers back to Tazuna's home. Stay put until Kakashi comes to get you. Kakashi, you're with me; I need your assistance in something." The team complied. Kakashi followed Jiraiya as he left from branch to branch to a higher vantage point. As soon as they reached the point, Jiraiya spoke up "Kids, get out of there." Kakashi looked in astonishment as two Hyuuga kids moved out of their hiding place and stood in front of Jiraiya. What was even more astonishing is that these were the missing Hyuuga kids - Hinata, the heiress of the Hyuuga Main Family, and Neji, the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan. Both had gone missing nearly 2 years ago. Neji hadn't changed that much, although his countenance looked less … hateful. He still had his Hitai-ate on his forehead, since he had from the day he joined the Ninja academy - to hide the Caged Bird Seal. The most shocking change was in Hinata. She had let her hair grow, and it almost reached her shoulder blades. But what shocked Kakashi the most was the fierce determination in her face. 'Is this same timid Hinata, who used to stutter and fumble' There was kindness in her eyes, but no sense of hesitation of sadness in them any more. Looked like 2 years away from Hiashi had its perks. Both of them wore baggy khaki pants and a white t-shirt. Jiraiya turned to face Kakashi, "Due to circumstances, these kids are under my guidance and tutelage. I wouldn't want you to make their existence known just yet." Kakashi nodded. If anything he knew that Jiraiya was a Sannin as well as the spymaster for Konoha. If anything, he loved Konoha more than anyone; and if he wished to keep something secret from them, it must be a delicate situation. So he decided not press things any further. "So, what did you need from me."

Jiraiya's countenance turned grim. "The Yoinokuchi. They are a group of Ninja, whose identities are unknown. They have been taking missions, but haven't done anything to cause alarm. One of missions is to establish contact with them and understand their motives." Kakashi was a bit worried. "The Yoinokuchi helped us with Kisame and Zabuza; and as you said they haven't done anything to cause alarm. So why do I get the feeling that you're pissed with them."

Jiraiya stood still for a moment before replying. "It is rumored to have been founded by Itachi Uchiha, and the leader is none other that Sasuke Uchiha." Kakashi's face fell. He immediately made the connection. The oddly familiar hair; he could now see it as clear as day. "Raijin is Sasuke Uchiha." Jiraiya nodded. He turned towards the Hyuuga siblings, "You kept a watch over the battle. Where did the 3 go? Can you find them?" They nodded in unison, "Hai Sensei". With that they took off after the Yoinokuchi.

Kakashi was seething inwards. Sasuke Uchiha. He hated that name. He had no proof, but he was certain Sasuke had killed Naruto to gain the Mangekyou. And if that was the case, he would personally kill him. He didn't care what the council would do to him for killing that last Uchiha (Itachi had been officially disavowed), but he wouldn't let the murderer of his Sensei's son to go scott free.

* * *

The 3 Yoinokuchi members had just reached their makeshift base. Arashi took his seat on a moss-covered log, while Koorihime was just sitting on the ground in front of the extinct fireplace. Her mask was by her side, and as the scattered light from the forest top fell on her face, one could see sadness and loss. She looked deeply into the fireplace, as if trying to find something. Raijin was standing in front of him, with his back to her. He had his mask in his hand. Arashi, jumped off from the branch and headed to his sleeping tent.

"Going off so early" asked Raijin. Arashi gave a small grunt, turning around waiting for him to say something more. A few moments later, Koorihime spoke up "We were severely outmatched today. Zabuza matched Arashi blow for blow, and he is not even a member of the Akatsuki. And based on the fact that Zabuza was using Suiton attacks, Arashi couldn't do much other than Taijutsu. And I have my doubts that Kisame was actually fighting. More like toying with you. And with that god-awful blade, Chakra based attacks would be as close to harming him, as a bit of dust harms a rhinoceros."

"Haku, I am sure we will find it in ourselves to improve. And once we do, Akatsuki will fall. Have faith in I…" Raijin snapped his neck to the right; Koorihime, or Haku, could make out his sharp features. And his Onyx eyes. "We have company". They placed their masks on their faces and stood up

* * *

Hinata and Neji sped up towards the Yoinokuchi output. It was a makeshift base in a ruined warehouse. They had set up a couple of tents, built a fireplace for the night, though no fire was started, and was preparing to sleep the rest of the day off. Neji noticed some movement from their location and realised. "It seems they have been alerted to our presence. They are masking their faces, and getting ready for a fight." Jiraiya nodded, "Alright, you guys have done your part. We'll handle the rest". Hinata shot back, "No! If Sasuke has killed Naruto, I will not let him live. We helped you track this group for a long time; I will not let them get away." Jiraiya was stunned at the viciousness of the gentle Hinata. Neji nodded and said, "I will stand by and fight for my sister." Kakashi sadly smiled, 'Naruto. Why did you have to befriend that Uchiha when you had such true friends.'

As they landed in the opening, the Hyuuga siblings settled in the Jyuuken pose, while Kakashi and Jiraiya landed in front of them to face down the Yoinokuchi.

"Take your mask off Raijin, or should I say Sasuke". The Yoinokuchi members were a bit shocked that the identity of one of their members was out in the open. Sasuke smirked as he took of his mask to reveal his all too familiar face, but with one noticeable difference - his eyes were red in color and spinning in place of his pupils was the Mangekyou Sharingan.

For Kakashi and Jiraiya, this was the last straw. Their fears were true, Sasuke had killed Naruto for the Mangekyou. Kakashi charged his Raikiri. Jiraiya yelled out at Sasuke, "YOU BASTARD! YOU KILLED YOUR BEST FRIEND NARUTO FOR THE MANGEKYOU." He got into a fighting stance as did Sasuke. But before anyone could make a move, Arashi stepped in between them. For the first time, Kakashi heard him speak (he had thought Arashi was mute, unable to speak) "Raijin, stand down. It is unwise to challenge a Sannin. Let us try and solve this peacefully."

"Hai Arashi-Taichou" Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan and stood back.

"So, you're the true leader of the Yoinokuchi." Jiraiya's voice was calmer, but he wasn't happy either. The change in demeanor from Jiraiya ruffled the silver haired Jounin. Kakashi wasn't sure on whether he should stand down or not. Hinata seemed confused 'That voice ... Why does it sound so oddly familiar. Why do I feel so much at ease, so much calm'. Although she didn't notice, her arms fell from the Jyuuken pose.

"Yes Jiraiya-sama, I am the leader of the Yoinokuchi, but before this turns into a bloodfest, why are you here?"

* * *

In a collapsed cave, a pink haired girl woke up. Her head was spinning and paining like hell. She slowly combed her hair with her fingers; something fell from her hair, like a headband, but she was more concerned about the warm wet feeling on her head. She brought her hand out to see it bloodied. 'Must have hit my head pretty hard', she thought. She gingerly got up and noticed that the thing that fell down was a Hitai-ate, with the symbol of a swirling leaf on it. She looked at it intently, brows furrowed. She placed it in her pocket and closed her eyes; her furrow deepened, as if trying to remember something. 'What happened to me? How the hell did I hit my head'. Suddenly her eyes flew open. She realised something terrible as she voiced her thought "Who the hell am I?"

* * *

A/N: Again, a little bit of explanations

**Katon** - Fire style

**Suiton** - Water style

(Not used in this chapter. I though it would be good to complete the set)

**Doton** - Earth style

**Futon** - Wind style

**Raiton** - Lightning style

* * *

I decided to go with FemHaku; having a male Haku with female features, although hilariously funny, is something I thought not to use in this fanfic. And, yes one more thing. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. REVIEWS. PLEEEAASSEEEE!


	3. Secrets Revealed

_A/N: Hi Guys, sorry for the delay. I've been travelling and had very little time to write. Anyways, the next chapter in the series is out. And for the first time, we have the Akatsuki gathering. Hope it interests you guys. And oh yeah, REVIEW THE CHAPTER. Even if it just to say 'Good Job' ((anime tears)). You have no idea how much I need those reviews, favs and follows. I have stopped eating and am sustaining solely on these 3. Please review, favorite and/or follow, and save my life._

* * *

**_Reviewer's Corner_**

_Ayrmed: Very interesting. Lots of secrets? Looking forward to the next chapter._ **Thanks for the support; There are more secrets coming.**

_Shinobi Of Life: oh dear sakura doesn't remember herself omg kakashi is gonna have hand full. Did they ever go to look for sakura? I mean come on the battles over they should of tried to bring their commrads doby back. _**Well good point. Actually, with Jiraiya stepping in, Kakashi didn't have a chance to go look for Sakura, and the other genins were pretty beat. I'll try to delve into it a bit more when Kakashi meets up with the rest of Team 7.**

_guest7: great chapter !  
As all the questions will not be answered, there is no point in voicing them...  
& please ethier write longer chapters or update frequently, the story leaves me wanting for more...  
& also, it would be more acceptable if they are older, like 16-17 as they are way too good for 13. Even if they trained for 1 yr(or 2)...  
Later..._ **Again, I am really really sorry for the delay in chapter. As for the chapter length, I've tried improving on that, so hope you guys like this longer chapter. As for their age, they are still 12-13 years old; I think they did mention it when they were talking about the fact that they were seriously outmatched. And both the fighters weren't at their best. The reasons will be explained partly here and partly later on. And they trained for more than 1-2 years. Jiraiya mentions it later in this chapter.**

_pheonixarises: interesting point of view...insights into the past may help fight scenes...i nevr gnrly go beyond d accepted basic storyline f naruto...bt u sir,hav piqued my up d good work (y) :)_ **Truth be told, I am not that good with the fight scenes (also I can't write a proper lemon, and not for lack of trying), but the insights into their early lives, their fighting styles, their relationships, their training - all of these are coming up soon, so I hope I can improve on the fight scenes, and with guys like you supporting me with unbiased and truthful reviews, I believe that's a possibility.**

* * *

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

"_**JUTSU**_"

* * *

Everything was a haze. From the first moments she opened her eyes, she couldn't remember anything. The pink haired kunoichi clenches her eyes shut, trying to remember anything that may be able to identify her. 'A dog. And a sword. Oh Kami! What the hell is wrong with me. Every single time I try remembering anything, I come up with the oddest of clues.' She remember a room with a dining table, two people sitting with her at the table, but she couldn't make out their faces. At the same time, she felt happy. All attempts of remembering anything was unfounded. Sighing in frustration, she opened her eyes and looked around. 'Looks like I am in a cavern of sorts.' The cavern extended for some distance in one end, and were tightly walled up. However, one of the walls seemed to be made of rubble, rather than of a smooth piece of rock; the sparse light that made its way through the cracks and crevices of the loose wall illuminated the interiors to the best of its abilities. She brought out the Hitai-ate that she had pocketed. 'This symbol seems so familiar, yet I can't place where I had seen it. Argh! This is so frustrating!'. In her frustration and rage, she punched the loose wall. She noticed that wall started crumbling. She thought 'Wow! I must have been strong as hell'. With that she punched her hands again. Only this time, she did nothing more than injure herself. She was lucky that she hadn't punched the wall hard enough to break her hand, but it sure as hell hurt. She couldn't figure out what the problem was. 'Ok. Let me think back to what I had done', and with that she pondered for the next hour over what she had done. Unknowingly, she started channeling Chakra into her fist; she realized that this must have been what had enhanced her punch. She gingerly threw a punch at the wall, to realize that her doubts were true. She gathered as much Chakra she had into her uninjured hand, and punched the wall with all her might. The makeshift barrier of debris fell, and she was treated to bright and harsh sunlight.

'Finally. Now I can get some answers … and some rest as well'. This was the last thought she had before she fell to the ground exhausted on using up so much Chakra

* * *

"Stand down Raijin. There is no way in hell we can fight the copy-ninja as well as a Sannin. And as I asked before, what is the purpose of your visit, oh legendary Sannin Jiraiya" Arashi said from under his mask.

Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan, but kept the Kunai he had brought out in his hand. "The same goes for you too Koorihime" Arashi told, slightly turning his head. Haku had readied herself, Senbons poised to fire at the group of ninjas. Hearing Arashi, she relaxed a bit, getting out of the stance she was in, but never letting go of the Senbons.

Jiraiya nodded a little. Neji and Hinata, got out of their Jyuuken poses and stepped back a little. They were tempted to use the Byakugan, but Jiraiya had them Henge their eyes to a normal one, and forbid them from using the Byakugan unless he gave express permission. But Kakashi was in no mood to let this slide. "Kakashi, stand down for now. Let's first have a 'civilized' chat, and we can always go to the killing later on." Hearing Jiraiya, Kakashi stood up from his posei, but the Sharingan eye that made him famous stayed out in the open. Jiraiya turned back to Arashi.

"Well, now thats settled. To cut to that chase, we have noticed your group and its activity for some time. My spy network tells me that you pick up missions for a decent remuneration; however I have been unable to discern your true motives -"

Before he could proceed, Arashi cut in, "Well maybe we are just a mercenary group, who offers their services to the needy and expect nothing more than a few coins to fill our coffers".

"Well from my past experience I doubt that Shinobi of such high standard don't have an ulterior motive when working as a group outside of a Hidden Village."

This time Haku spoke up. "Well we weren't that skilled."

"True but you are young. And your powers will grow. If anything, I am sure that you'll soon have your names in the Bingo Books as S-classed Nins. But that is deviating from my original conversation. I used my spy network to obtain more information on the group. Imagine my surprise when I was informed that it was led by none other than 'Hero of the Leaf', the traitorous Sasuke Uchiha and his decadent brother." Sasuke grit his teeth, but one glare from Arashi and he swallowed his rage and pride. "It was a master stroke to make my spy network believe that the true leader was Sasuke so you could operate the group with the relative safety of anonymity. But in any case, a group that is led by the traitor, or has the traitor as its member is no better than the Akatsuki"

"Don't compare us with those scum, 'Sannin-Sama'" scoffed Sasuke

"Why shouldn't I? That traitorous scum you call brother is no better than, neither are you, you back-stabbing cretin."

"ENOUGH! NO ONE SPEAKS ABOUT ITACHI THAT WAY" screamed Sasuke as he fired up his Chakra and started spinning his Sharingan. HInata and Neji instinctively jumped in the Jyuuken pose. Kakashi started charging up his Chakra for the Chidori, as he bellowed "I will not let the murderer of my Sensei's son go scott free. Sasuke Uchiha, you shall pay for your crimes against the village of Konoha, towards a fellow Shinobi and towards a friend. You are worse than trash."

"Y-Your Sensei. But that means …" Hinata started

"Yes. Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze. His true name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze." Jiraiya stated. "... and my Sensei … " finished Kakashi.

When Hinata was a kid, she was really shy. And being the heiress of the Hyuuga clan didn't help her at all. She was saved by the prankster loser of her class, Naruto. She was amazed at the determination that the boy exuded; and no matter what anyone else said, he never stopped believing in his dream - to become the Hokage. She couldn't help notice the unacknowledging eyes of the villagers and the hate filled glances that villagers used to send him. It would have been easier if the villagers would have just chased him and hurt him for whatever reason, but they simply refused to acknowledge the existence of the kid. But all through, Naruto had never lost hope and smiled through it all. She had grown to admire the village pariah. She trust in his determination and believed in herself to be able to achieve the same level of determination some day. Looking at the boy instilled some modicum of confidence in him every time she saw him. However, all of this came crashing down one fateful day. Sasuke Uchiha, who had befriended the blond, has killed Naruto and fled with Itachi who himself was being hunted down for crimes of his own. After being apprenticed by Jiraiya, she had come to know a bit more about his famed student the Yondaime and the fact that he had mentored Kakashi. Now, coming to know, that the deceased blond was the son of the greatest hero (something she was sure the villagers were unaware of), her anger and ire increased.

"Why wasn't anyone informed of this? Why did the villagers treat him that way? Why didn't you of Jiraiya Sensei do anything about this?"

Her questions were cut short by Arashi. "I think I may be able to answer those questions. The Namikaze name was held with great disdain in Iwa for the actions of the Yondaime in the Third Great Shinobi World War. And Naruto had lost both his parents, the day he was born, to the Kyuubi. To name an orphan with the title of one of the most feared men in the Elemental Nations would be foolhardy. Iwa would take this opportunity and either abduct or kill him. So, the Hokage had decided to give him the name of his mother, Kushina Uzumaki.

"As to why the villagers treated him with hate and contempt; the simple answer is that they were fools. They blamed the poor kid for something that was truly beyond his control. All I can say is the Kyuubi had really rattled the psyches of the village at the moment; and lot of them turned their anger and hatred towards the orphan. Still, that is no way for anyone to treat a human.

"As to why Kakashi or Jiraiya didn't intervene, Jiraiya was tasked by the Hokage to maintain the spy network. Besides, everyone knows that the last person anyone would associate with a responsible father figure is Jiraiya. So, the best way he could help Naruto was to keep the spy network functional and protect him along with the rest of Konoha from any threats - domestic or international. Kakashi on the other hand, was already burdened by the loss of Rin and Obito. The death of Minato-sama only compounded his grief; so he dived into more ANBU ops and missions. Furthermore, seeing Minato-sama's student familiarize himself with a blond spiky haired boy, who was oddly reminiscent of Minato-sama himself, wouldn't have gone unnoticed by spies and enemy nins. Naruto's life would have become a long game of cat-and-mouse."

Jiraiya and Kakashi were dumbstruck. So much so, that Kakashi had unknowingly deactivated his Chidori. Jiraiya questioned Arashi, "How do you know so much about Naruto?"

"Oh I know all that and more. Probably more than you. I believe the only person who knows more about Naruto is Naruto himself. And while we are on that topic, I believe that Naruto has already forgiven and moved on. So you, as his Godfather, needn't worry yourself to death. And the same goes for you as well, Kakashi."

"H-How do you know that I was his godfather. Very few people were privy to this information." Jiraiya stated. Then suddenly, it hit him like a ton of bricks. Itachi. Being an ANBU captain, he must have had information on Naruto, from all those ANBU missions to watch over Naruto. He glared at Arashi. "Itachi Uchiha. That rat bastard gave you all those information, didn't he."

Before Sasuke could get riled up, Arashi answered, "Yes, Itachi did provide us with all those information. And more. As far as I know, Naruto knows about his lineage, his 'tenant' and your status as his godfather - although you did a piss-ass job of that. As for the villagers, he doesn't despise them, he simply pities them for not being able to differentiate between a kunai and its holster."

Jiraiya was seething with anger. The bastard Itachi not only betrayed the village, he had betrayed Naruto by sharing his secrets with the members of his team. But then again what more could you expect from a traitor such as him. The unsettling silence was broken by Hinata.

"Ano, why do you refer to Naruto in the present? What do you mean he knows? And how would you know what Naruto feels and thinks?". Jiraiya and Kakashi were so riled up they had missed the nuance that was picked up by Hinata. They looked in confusion at the leader of the Yoinokuchi, waiting for his answer.

Arashi stood there for a moment, frozen to the spot on his slip-ups. He was considering running away, but with Jiraiya and Kakashi giving them chase, it would be nigh impossible to escape. He hung his head in defeat, before picking his gaze up. "Well, I guess you guys are trustworthy enough. Knowing both of you were related to Minato-sama and that you have such strong feelings for Naruto." With that, he started pulling his mask and Bandana off. The next sight shocked the pursuers to the core. In front of them stood a young kid, with spiky blond hair, reminiscent of the Yondaime Hokage, with blue cerulean eyes. And a huge, innocent, goofy grin plastered to his face.

* * *

In a poorly illuminated place, one of the most dark congress of missing Ninjas was taking place. Each of the members wore a Black Coat with Red Clouds on them. The Akatsuki.

It couldn't be called a congress in its truest sense. Most of its members were not present there in flesh. Instead, they used their Astral projection to communicate. The one with purple eyes and concentric rings spoke up first.

"Kisame. What report do you have for use?"

Kisame, being the only one present there in flesh, spoke up "Hai Leader-sama. The technique I used was a bit sloppy. It left the target at a little over 10%. Given more time, I'll be able to come up with a more efficient method."

"That's really great to hear. But what about Gato.", one of them snidely spoke up. "Without Gato's fundings, we will be in deep trouble, what with the wars in Kiri going on."

"Sorry Kakuzu, but Gato is dead. I was interrupted by Kakashi and his team along with the Yoinokuchi and Jiraiya. Zabuza, for his part, seemed to lack some motivation. I believe he is already on to us. If he finds out that the Bloodline Cleansing in Kiri and the subsequent civil war was due to the Akatsuki, he will become a problem."

"Ku ku ku. Don't worry about him Kisame-san. We will deal with Zabuza when the time comes." came a snake-like voice

The leader spoke up. "I agree with Orochimaru. Zabuza is the least of our problems. With Gato's backing we could have continued funding the Kiri wars as well as advance our own motives. Right now, we should just pick up mercenary work and start building our finance. The Kiri wars seem to be out of our hands."

Orochimaru spoke up. "I think that we are retreating too quickly. I have a plan to deal with Kiri, and at the same time level Konoha to the ground. I think this plan would pique your interests, Leader-sama."

"I'm listening".

* * *

Wave country was a simple country. It had the regular farmers, carpenters, dock workers. What stood out in the dilapidated country was the casino. Not a very luxurious one, but a casino none-the-less. With Gato and his men sucking the life out of the people of the wave, the casino wasn't faring well. But today the owner was really thrilled. His casino was now seating none other than the famous legendary sucker Tsunade Senju; her infamous luck … or lack of it … always left the gamblers smiling and her in a perpetual debt. Standing with Tsunade was her ever faithful assistant Shizune and in her hand was her pet TonTon.

"Tsunade-sama. Please let us leave with what we have left. I don't think it is wise to be gambling any more." said Shizune. The black-haired girl was evidently worried.

"Oh, just loosen up Shizune. I am sure I'll win it all back with this hand". Tsunade reeked of Sake. To a lay person, it may seem that the Blond Sannin was under the influence of Sake, when she was dreaming of winning back her losses, but Shizune knew that this was how she was; inebriated or sober, she lept gambling.

Just as the next hand was about to be dealt, a loud crash was heard. Tsunade raised her head to look at the source. The wall of the casino had collapsed, and a pink-haired girl was walking furiously out of the hole-in-the-wall. Tsunade stood up and looked at Shizune "Cash me out. I need to check that out."

As Tsunade approached, she noticed 3 broken bodies lay near the wall. They weren't dead, but the impossible angles their limbs had made, Tsunade was sure they wished they were dead. She asked a bystander about what happened. Apparently, the pink-haired girl had come into the bar for something to drink. That is when the 3 men surrounded her and one of them groped her ass. Something snapped and she picked the 3 up by the scruff of their necks and threw them at the wall, which collapsed on them.

Shizune caught up to her mentor. "Shizune, we need to go after the girl. Something doesn't seem right". Shizune was confused and furrowed her brows, but she knew better than to question her motives and decisions. She simply replied "Hai, Tsunade-sama".

'If she was able to throw the 3 men into the wall with such force as to break it, either she must have a hell of a throwing arm, or she must have used a chakra enhanced throw. I seriously hope it is the latter; I'll be able to meet someone like me' she thought as she caught up to the pink-haired girl.

"Get lost you hag" she yelled at Tsunade, while running away from her, keeping her back towards the blond Sannin.

"That's a really nice throw you know. Those 3 will be out of it for some time"

"Oh, do you want to get a demonstration". With that Sakura jumped back towards Tsunade, cocking her left arm for a chakra-infused punch. Tsunade side-stepped and punched her in the gut. It wasn't chakra-infused, but even then, she could punch really hard. Sakura gasped for air, but stood up, grimacing at the pain in her gut. To her credit, she pushed chakra into her feet and launched herself at Tsunade, Tsunade was startled at her sudden burst of speed. She immediately hardened her arm with Chakra bracing for her impact. She felt a bit of a pain in her arms when the punch connected. 'Damn, this tyke can throw quite a punch'. The girl was clearly at her limit. She was panting heavily, placing her palms on her knees while she stood.

"You have a great chakra control. But abysmally low chakra reserves. I would suggest you get your reserves up. I think I should be able to train you in that". The girl lifted her head, eyes wide, surprised at her offer. "You'll also have to learn medical ninjutsu from me", Tsunade continued. The girl stood up, a determined grin on her face "Let's do this", she said.

Tsunade was happy at the turn of events. She had found a new apprentice, one that resembled her in almost all her aspects - temper, skill, control and most importantly the Will of Fire, will Tsunade had lost for some time. "Before we proceed, I need to know your name."

The pink-haired girl had a sullen countenance. She scrunched her face as if trying to remember something. She muttered something under her breath, something sounding similar to '... useless ...'. She spoke up, "Actually, I was injured recently and I lost my memory. I don't remember my name".

Tsunade smiled sadly at this. 'I could heal her injuries, but the trauma to her brain is something I can't help her with.' She looked at the girl, "I think it is best if you don't attempt to recall any memory right now, its going to be painful and may end up doing more harm than good. As for your name, I think you should go by the name Rippuku; it suits your personality"

"Rippuku …. I like it", the girl smiled.

* * *

The landing was eerily quiet. The pursuers looked in shock at the revelation the leader of the Yoinokuchi, "Arashi", had made. In front of them stood a kid, while spiky blond hair; unkempt and a bit wild. They reached down from his head and framed the sides of his face. His eyes were a cerulean blue color, while his wide goofy grin was accompanied by two sets of 3 whisker marks, one on each cheek.

"Na-Na-Naruto? I-Is th-that y-y-you", stammered Jiraiya.

Naruto let out a sharp laugh. "Haha! You look like you've seen a ghost, Jiraiya-sama. Although, last I heard of me, I think looking at me would entail looking at a ghost. Anyways, nice to meet you guys."He turned to look at Hinata before continuing, "I vaguely remember you at the academy. Last time I saw you, you were getting bullied by a couple of jerks. Hinata, that's your name right?"

Hinata was too shocked to reply to any of his queries. However, she managed to squeak out a reply which no one heard or even understood.

Looking around Naruto saw the shocked and confused look on everyone's faces "Guys, I am the real one. Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, the last of the Uzumaki and Namikaze clans. Don't you recognize me. At least I think I look like my father, so it should give you some clue."

This time Kakashi spoke up, clearly disturbed by the turn of events. "How are you alive? I saw your dead body with my own eyes. I was there at your funeral. The Uchiha bastard had killed you, so how did you survive?" Jiraiya barged in as well "And where the hell have you been for the past 5 years? Why the hell didn't you come back to village. Everyone was so depressed learning that you were gone. And how did you end up with this rag-tag group of misfits, and to top it off become their leader?"

"Whoa Whoa! That's a lot of questions. But before I proceed, I think it is only fair to introduce the last member properly. You know her codename as Koorihime. Her true name is Haku". As if on cue, Haku removed her mask and bowed down to the visitors, "Its a pleasure meeting you".

"Ok, now that that's done, what do you want to know?" asked Naruto.

Jiraiya held up his arm in order to stop the volley of questions that were starting to flood the discussion. "We presumed you were murdered by Sasuke Uchiha, but it seems we were wrong. So what happened and why didn't you return to the village?"

Naruto sighed, gesturing everyone to sit. WIth everyone seated, he closed his eyes, turning his face up "It's a long story". He opened his blue eyes to look at the skies that matched his eyes' color. "I think to understand all of this - my 'staged' murder, Sasuke's disappearance, the Yoinokuchi, we'll have to go back to the very beginning; the events that led to the formation of the Yoinokuchi"

* * *

**Omake:**

Everything was a haze. From the first moments she opened her eyes, she couldn't remember anything. The pink haired kunoichi clenches her eyes shut, trying to remember anything that may be able to identify her. 'A dog. And a sword. Oh Kami! What the hell is wrong with me. Every single time I try remembering anything, I come up with the oddest of clues.' She remember a room with a dining table, two people sitting with her at the table, but she couldn't make out their faces. At the same time, she felt happy. All attempts of remembering anything was unfounded. Sighing in frustration, she opened her eyes and looked around. 'Looks like I am in a cavern of sorts.' The cavern extended for some distance in one end, and were tightly walled up. However, one of the walls seemed to be made of rubble, rather than of a smooth piece of rock; the sparse light that made its way through the cracks and crevices of the loose wall illuminated the interiors to the best of its abilities. She brought out the Hitai-ate that she had pocketed.

There seemed to be a piece of paper lodged between the metal forehead protector and the cloth of the Hitai-ate. She used her nails to extract the piece of paper. It was folded. She unfolded it and held it in the sparse light to read it. It looked like a restaurant bill, written in German. She didn't know German and didn't try understanding what it meant. One word however stood out from the rest of the words.

Zurich.

She turned it over, and saw written in her own hand a number that looked awfully like a bank account number. And one word below that.

Jason Bourne.

* * *

_Hope you liked the Omake. Just popped into my mind, that the memory loss may have been influenced by one of the greatest writers of the century - Robert Ludlum. Those who have watched the Jason Bourne movies by Matt Damon, go read the books; the movie doesn't even hold a flicker of a candle to the book. And for all those who have read just this book of his, try out Parsifal Mosaic. It is friggin' awesome._

_As for the Omake section, I don't know whether I'll make it a regular feature or just an occasional one. What do you guys think about this?_

* * *

A/N: Back again with more translations. By the way, for all of you people who are really good and fluent in Japanese, please know that I don't really know much about the awesome language (it has to be awesome, all 3 of my favorite Manga/Anime are written/spoken in the language; and before you think One Piece to be part of the the trio - its Naruto, Bleach and DragonBall series; One Piece is getting confusing, specially with the Dresora arc. Can't make heads or tails out of the thing with Doflamingo). I usually use Google Translate, type in an English word, get the translation in Japanese and see which one of the alternative translation sounds cool. ((Sweatdrop)) He he... I know its probably not the best way to go about it, but I've really got no other option. Although I think you guys might be able to help me with them.

So lets do a thing; please anyone, someone, PM me or post it via review, if you are interested in helping me out. I may have a couple of other characters and new jutsus, which I was planning on naming via Google Translate; but if you have a better tool for doing so that you'd want to share with me, or if you are willing to help me translate a couple of words, I'd be honored.

**Rippuku - **_Fury_

* * *

I'll try to get the next chapter out as soon as I can, but it may be a week before I can do so. So in the meantime, don't give up on this story, cause I sure as hell am not. I'll post chapters as soon as possible, they may be delayed (like I was this time) but I will post it. Oh and yes, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW.


	4. 5 Years Ago

_A/N: YOSH! A huge chapter and in record time. There should be an achievement or something for me. :) Anyways, as the title of the chapter suggests, all these event are happening 5 years prior to the current setup. And any flashbacks in the story are with respect to 5 years prior to the current timeline. So when it says 3 years ago in the flashback, it means based on the current time frame, it would be (3+5=8) years ago._

_Also, please do tell me if the spacing between the paragraphs is all right or not. I used a single line break, but if you think it's kind of crammed up, I'll increase it. And yes, (I think this is getting old by now), please, I beg of you, please do Review._

* * *

**Reviewer's corner**

_Ayrmed: All I can say is I'm glad to see Naruto is alive, pleased to see Hinata didn't faint (suppose that could still change) and I'm so confused...lol. Waiting for answers soon :)_ **Hope this helps quells a bit of your confusion. As for Hinata, I haven't really put in much screen time for her. But not worry, after the next chapter, she'll have a lot of screen time (or fanfic time? I dunno)**

_Shinobi Of Life: Very good is danzo part of the big problem, the villiages are gonna shit their pants!_** And you have won a million dollars. Danzo is part of every problem, big or small. This chapter itself has Danzo acting in some capacity, as well as the introduction of one of the most dastardly villains of the Naruto Mangaverse. And yes I know, you all know who I am talking about. Tobi. And if you can't figure out where he is mentioned in the chapter, shame on you.**

_AlastairLove: Please update soon i am very interested in this I want to see the romance build!_** As requested, the update has arrived. As for the romance, I plan to start the NaruHina pairing pretty soon (the manga punted that for so long, I am overcompensating by starting early); their confessions should be up in another 3-4 chapters. Besides I have the setup for only that pair. As for SasuSaku, I am not starting it till much later, and unlike the NaruHina relationship, which I intend to keep pretty simple and easy, theirs will be quite complicated. I haven't drafted till a point where they can actually confess anything to each other.**

_millineal: Very interesting concept and it does have a similar feel to hakumei which was one of my favorite fanfictions. Now as far as predictions I'm guessing __**REDACTED**__. And last but not least questions does sasuke have ms or eternal ms how strong is naruto currently and what is happening with saku_ **Hey, spoiler alert! Anyways, I already mentioned in my first chapter, I was highly influenced by Hakumei; there will be a couple of similarities between them, but the plot I have is mine and mine alone. Honest. But still I would recommend you to read Hakumei. Your predictions aren't that far off (****_for the readers: you can still read the non-redacted version in the reviews section. :P_****). But I think you should wait for the next chapter. As for MS or eternal MS, I had this question before and I chose not to answer that as I was waiting for the right time to answer that, but it gets answered in the next chapter. As for Sakura, if you haven't figured by now, her memories are screwed, she meets up with Tsunade, and she starts travelling with Tsunade and Shizune. I have a lot of stuff planned for her, mostly dark, but you'll see.**

* * *

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

"_**JUTSU**_"

* * *

"NARUTO! WAKE UP"

Naruto shot up straight to look at Iruka fuming near the blackboard. He grinned a large goofy smile and scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, Iruka-Sensei".

Iruka, the Chunnin instructor, pinched the bridge of his scarred nose, closed his eyes and shook his head. "Naruto, you need to be awake in the class during the lectures. You barely pass in the exams as it is; and with your lackadaisical attitude it wouldn't take too much of an effort on your side to get yourself failed." Naruto's grin widened as he said "Don't worry Iruka-Sensei; I've got help. I won't fail, believe it" He turned his face to his best friend sitting next to him, Sasuke Uchiha. The raven haired boy, smiled a genuine warm smile to reassure him that he would be there for him to help him out of trials and tribulations. Sasuke was more than a friend to Naruto, he was a brother.

He focussed back to Iruka-Sensei who was droning on about the 2nd Great Shinobi World War; Naruto started drifting back to the fateful day that changed his life, his emptiness and the day he earned a family.

_Flashback (3 years ago)_

It was early evening in Konoha hospital. The sun was minutes away from setting. The golden hue of the sun kissed the clouds giving an ethereal feeling to the evening. However, a darkness shrouded a little boy who exited the Konoha Hospital. He had spiky blond hair, 3 whisker marks on each side of his cheek, and blue cerulean eyes. But where the eyes of a kid so young should have been filled with happiness and joy, his held pain, sadness and depression. His eyes were focussed on the road ahead, his head was held low. He bumped into a person on the road, sending searing pain into his plastered arm that he had in a sling. Still he mumbled out a "Sorry …"

"Watch where you're going you demon brat!" came the reply.

Generally, he would have a mask of goofy happiness on his face to hide his true pain, his loneliness. Ever since he could remember, he was in the Konoha orphanage; no one knew who his parents were, neither did anyone really care. What caused him more pain was the fact that everyone hated him. They hated him to the point of wanting to kill him, but were unable to do so. Whether it was whatever little humanity they had or whether it was for some other reason he didn't know. So the villagers did the next best thing they could, they started ignoring his existence. He could feel their glances as though he was made of nothing. The only person who actually cared for him was his Ojiisan, the Sandaime Hokage. But he was the Hokage, he didn't have enough time to keep an eye on him always. He wouldn't call it negligence on the Hokage's part, but on one such occasion when the Hokage was really busy, the orphanage had thrown him out. When the old man found out, he immediately raided the orphanage and imprisoned the in-charge. As for Naruto, the Hokage provided an apartment for him to live in. It hadn't been the best of the accommodations in Konoha, but it was a welcome change to be living alone as compared to people who would hate your very existence. Things were looking up for him, but the village shops used to refuse or overcharge him. He was left with no where to eat, except at a little Ramen stand called Ichiraku Ramen. The owner Teuchi and his daughter Ayame were the only ones who were kind to him, allowing him to not only eat at their eatery but charged him normally for the same. But with so many people hating him, not feeling lonely and depressed was impossible. At the same time, he couldn't let his close ones see his pain, lest they get worried, nor could he allow the villagers who gave him the hated glances to see that they had won. The result was the mask of happiness that Naruto wore all around.

But today, he felt his mask shatter. He looked at his arms forlornly; he had got beaten up trying to save a young little girl from a couple of bullies. The girl was so tiny and timid, Naruto couldn't help feel angry and furious at the bullies. His attempt to save her, led to him getting beaten up. After the bullies had their fill of beating him up, he tried opening his eyes, ever so slightly, to see the tear-stricken face of the girl; her eyes seemed to share his pain, something he found very interesting. He couldn't see very well, but he remember her pale lavender eyes, worried with concern for him. She was forcibly pulled away by someone; this was all he remembered before passing out. When he came to he was in the hospital. He had hoped that whoever the girl was would eventually come over to meet him, but he kept hoping in vain. The small amount of hope that he had that there could be someone that cared for him, raised his hopes high, and when it crashed, it broke his mask of happiness with it. It would take some time alone in his apartment for him to recuperate.

He reached the playground near his apartment and saw numerous kids running around and playing with each other, their parents looking lovingly over them. His heart sank into even more depression. He would never know the love of parents, neither of friends. He walked over to an abandoned part of the playfield, before slumping on a swing. He closed his eyes, trying to block the tears that were falling from his eyes, but his tears obeyed his will no more.

* * *

Itachi Uchiha was a very stoic man. Growing up with the rest of the stuck-up Uchihas, it was very rare for him to show any emotions. And today was one of those days. He was in the playground with his brother Sasuke, as he was playing with the other kids. It was then that he noticed the blond boy that had reached the playground. He was none other than the infamous Naruto Uzumaki. The kid was looked down upon and hated by almost the entire populace of the village. He grit his teeth in anger thinking about how people could be so foolish as to blame the kid for the crimes of his captor. Being an ANBU he was privy to a lot of S classed secrets including the reason why the villagers hated Naruto. It so happened, that on the day of Naruto's birth the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze had to save the village from the fury of the Nine-Tailed Fox, the Kyuubi. While the Hokage couldn't destroy the demon, he was forced to seal it into Naruto. When news of the Kyuubi being sealed into Naruto spread, people started looking at him with hate and disdain, seeing him as the Kyuubi reborn, rather than as the jailer of the demon, the hero who kept the village safe. This was classified as an S ranked secret and no one was allowed to speak of it again. This however didn't prevent the parents to pass on their hate to their children, asking them to keep him away from the kid. Being an ANBU captain, Itachi also came across a couple of SS ranked secrets, he wasn't even supposed to know. Apparently, the blond orphan Jinchuuriki Naruto Uzumaki, was the son of none other than the greatest hero of Konoha, the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze and his secret wife, Kushina Uzumaki. The Sandaime Hokage had Naruto's records changed to give him his mother's name, so as to deter any of his father's enemies from attacking him. And to see the legacy of the greatest hero of the village abused and scorned the way he is, he really loathed the villagers for their stupidity.

There were a very few people who were friendly with the kid and he could count them on the fingers of one of his hands. A couple of clan heads held no resentment towards the kid, but the same couldn't be said for their entire clan. His own clan, the Uchiha clan, was one such clan. Itachi's father and the current Uchiha clan head, Fugaku knew who Naruto truly was, and being a teammate to Minato, he couldn't come to hate the kid. But his clan hated the kid, with all their guts. They were no better than the villagers. In spite of his wish to do so, Fugaku was unable to adopt Naruto, and was prevented by the rest of his clan from doing anything more for him. Itachi had just found out all these information a couple of days ago. And now he looking at the sadness that permeated from the 5 year old kid. It saddened him very much. He was brought out his thoughts by Sasuke.

"Nii-san. What happened? You look sad" Sasuke being a very perceptive kid was able to make out the slightest of emotions on the face of the stoic ANBU captain.

Itachi faced Sasuke and said, "Ano, what do you think of that blond kid there?"

"Who? Naruto? I don't know much, I haven't met him. I also asked the others to invite him and play with us, but they said that their parents told them that he was a demon, and asked them to stay away from him. So I've never played with him"

Itachi said "Well, does he look like a demon to you? Tell me what you think, not what the others say about him"

Sasuke thought for a moment and said, "Ano, I don't think that he is that bad. I've never seen him try to harm anyone. He tries to be friendly with everyone, but everyone seems to push him away."

"Now think what would happen if you were in his place. He has no family, no friends, and everyone hates him for no fault of his own" asked Itachi.

Sasuke looked down, as if saddened by the thought and said, "I would be very hurt. But he seems so happy all the times"

Itachi smiled and said, "Trust me, he is in a lot of pain. He simply tries to hide his pain from everyone with that fake smile."

Sasuke said, "That's so sad. I want to help him, but the others won't let him play with us."

Itachi replied, "You don't need everyone to accept him. Go up to him and make him your friend. And if the others don't want to be your friend simply because you befriended him, you are better off without them.

Sasuke beamed at this "Thanks Nii-san. I'll be Naruto's friend"

Itachi smiled warmly and replied, "I'm proud of you Otouto"

* * *

Naruto's tears had long dried up; he was staring at the ground, sighing deeply trying to relieve himself of the pain in his heart. He heard footsteps approaching him; he would probably be asked to vacate the swing. What he heard next surprised him to no end.

"Do you want me to push you?"

Naruto looked up with wide eyes. Did he hear this correctly? A kid wanted to push him on the swing. Someone wanted to play with him. His head was spinning.

"You want to play with me?" Naruto asked. The raven haired kid, smiled and nodded his head. Naruto furrowed his brows, "Are you sure? Your parents won't allow it." Sasuke replied, "Don't worry, my nii-san says that it is okay to play with you. By the way, I am Sasuke Uchiha" Sasuke held out a hand for Naruto to shake.

Though initially flabbergasted, Naruto recovered quickly as he grinned widely and shook with his good hand, "Naruto Uzumaki. It's a pleasure meeting you, Dattebayo"

Sasuke looked at him quizzically, "Dattebayo?". "Yeah, its something I say when I am happy or excited". Sasuke smiled and said, "Want to me my nii-san", he said pulling Naruto to his elder brother. His brother looked almost like Sasuke, just much older and with a lot less expression. "Naruto, meet my brother Itachi Nii-san."

The Sandaime had drilled a modicum of decorum into Naruto, which kicked into action. He bowed low, not taking his eyes off Itachi and said, "A pleasure meeting you Itachi-Sama" Itachi replied "Please, call me Itachi; none of the sama crap" "Ok, Itachi-Sam...I mean Itachi-San". Naruto looked into his eyes and found none of the cold hatred he had seen in the eyes of the villagers. Instead he found a warm feeling of acceptance when he looked into Itachi's eyes. It was turning dark fast, and Itachi stood up, "Alright otouto, say your goodbyes to your new friend; we must be getting home soon." Naruto looked a bit downcast. Seeing this Sasuke spoke up, "See you tomorrow Naruto. Lets meet up in the playground, when it opens" Naruto grinned widely before replying "Dattebayo".

_End Flashback_

Since that day, Sasuke and Naruto had grown close. They became like brothers. Naruto had grown to calling Itachi as Itachi Nii-san, which of course Itachi didn't mind. Itachi infact had started looking at Naruto as his younger brother, referring to him as Otouto. Pretty soon, these 2 figures grew closer to Naruto than anyone before. Closer than the Teuchi and Ayame. Closer even than the old man Hokage. To him, they were more than friends, they were his family. Itachi used his free time, away from ANBU to help and train both his little brothers. He even was allowed to visit Sasuke's household. Sasuke's parents were different from the rest of the clan. Their eyes didn't hold resentment or disgust. He was quite surprised to notice their eyes riddled with guilt, sympathy and repentance. Due to the clan not approving the actions of the clan head, their meeting place gradually changed from Sasuke's house to Naruto's apartment. When they joined the academy, Sasuke protected Naruto from the glares and hatred of other students, violently retorting to anyone who would call his best friend a demon or something similar. Naruto would return the favor by keeping Sasuke away from the hordes of fan girls that he had acquired. Slowly the class grew more tolerant of Naruto. Although, he did manage to make a few friends right off the bat. The first girl he managed to befriend was the shy Hyuuga heiress, the lazy Nara heir, the Akimichi heir, the Aburame heir. The Inuzuka heir, became fast friends with Naruto, mostly because of the interest they shared in pranking others. Naruto smiled at all that he managed to achieve with Sasuke's help in garnering the respect and friendship of others.

* * *

Itachi frowned as he looked at the documents in his hands; though no one could make out the frown from beneath his ANBU mask. He had just crept into his own house to steal some documents. He had been acting as a double agent for the Hokage and his office towards the Uchiha clan dealings for quite some time now. But as time passed by, the Hokage and his office, became more distant to him with regards to the Uchiha clan matters. They never approached him for details like they used to previously, nor did they provide any information that he could false feed to the Uchiha clan, much to the chagrin of the clan elders. However, he had noticed a couple of documents that his father had locked in the house safe. He broke into his house when no one was home; Fugaku was attending a clan meeting, Mikoto, his mother, was out shopping, while Sasuke was probably at Naruto's apartment. After he retrieved the document, he ran across the clan compound to near the gates where his team was waiting for him.

As he looked on, these documents held proof of the fact that the Uchiha were conspiring in a coup d'etat. And by the looks of it, more than half of the Uchiha were involved in this. His father, mother, elders, even his best friend Shisui Uchiha; his father being the mastermind behind it all, while Shisui acted as a mole in the ANBU department. He remembered his clan elders ask him to do the job, but when he informed the Hokage of this, the old man asked Itachi to act as a double agent. The Sandaime explained that ever since the attack of the Kyuubi, a lot of people have shown their lack of trust in the Uchiha clan. His clan elders and more specifically his father was merely looking out for the safety of his clan, nothing more. Still, if his father or the elders had something else planned the Hokage would like to be informed and ready for the same; hence the reason for him turning double agent. His own name was present in the list, which disturbed him to no end; Did his father think that since he was a mole in the ANBU like Shisui apparently was, he would readily accede to his plans. And then there was Shisui's name; he was in the ANBU no doubt and was a captain like Itachi, but he had no idea of his status as a mole for the Uchiha clan, nor was he sure whether he knew of the coup and the inclusion of his name in the list of conspirators. He couldn't bear to think that his friend would condone such an action. Agreed, his sense of pride in the Uchiha made him a perfect candidate as a mole in the ANBU, but a co-conspirator in the coup was far too much.

All of this was causing him a headache. He was only slightly relieved to find that Sasuke's name was missing from the list of people, along with a few other non-descript individuals. He knew what he was supposed to do; he was supposed to bring this in front of the Hokage and his council, the three stooges of the ancient era, as he used to call them; Danzo Shimura, Homura Mitokado and Koharu Utatane. He was about to leave when a second thought occurred to him. He knew that these documents had to make it to the Hokage in time, but he sensed something was wrong about the entire scenario. He asked one of his subordinates to hold onto the documents as he went in search for some answers. It was late in the evening, close to dinner time, so no one saw Itachi move across the rooftops to the training ground behind his house. He found the person who he needed to speak to standing there.

Shisui Uchiha was sitting on the grass, eyes closed and meditating. He approached Shisui, when he noticed something odd about his aura. He activated his sharingan and noticed the Genjutsu. Shisui was adept at using his Sharingan to cast Genjutsu, but Itachi was no slacker. He wasn't called a prodigy for no reason. He dispelled the Genjutsu as he noticed Shisui sneak up on his back.

"What do you plan to do Shisui?" Itachi kept his voice as controlled as possible, but it broke his heart to see the person he considered his friend was trying to kill him.

"Nothing more than the glory of the Uchiha clan. I have seen the glory of the Uchiha clan under the rule of Madara Uchiha. It has been reduced to just another clan in this wretched village. Placed alongside those Hyuuga bastards and other lowlives such as those bug people and dog breeders."

Itachi sghed and replied "What you yearn for is foolish Shisui. The Uchiha clan is a part of Konoha. Trying to separate the cla…"

He was interrupted by Shisui, "Hah! You are your decadent ideals. Your father has the same ideals; that is the reason for the decline of the Uchiha clan. I will not stand for this."

Itachi caught on to his words, "What do you mean by that? My father is one of those who have been implicated … It was a setup, wasn't it? You intend to take out those who oppose your ideals. Someone informed you that I was acting as a double agent, which is why my name was included in the list. I have an inkling that you were somehow involved with the loss of trust in me at the Hokage's office. And with my name on the list, while I reported no such coup would only enforce the fact that I am involved in the coup and no longer trustworthy. And if I'm not wrong, you act as double agent yourself, thereby solidifying your position with the council. The only question that remains is whether the threat was real or fake."

Shisui stood still for a moment, before letting out a guffaw. "You were too smart for your own good Itachi. As for the threat, that was the whole plan, wasn't it? With those cronies that support the bastard Sandaime out of the way, the Uchiha would overthrow the Hokage, paving the way for a glorious future for the Uchiha clan. One that is pure of essence and ideals."

"But with more than half the Uchiha out of the count, how are you going to defeat the ANBU? Unless … no it's not possible for the Uchiha to infiltrate the ANBU; we are one of the 7 Uchiha's that are in the ANBU, the rest would easily overpower what will be left of the clan" Itachi's brain was cranking out ideas and strategies that the Uchiha might be using for the coup d'etat. Suddenly, all his thoughts became clear. "Danzo. That bastard is still running ROOT. That is how he intends to infiltrate and subdue the ANBU. He was the one caused the others to lose their trust in me. He informed you of my status, and if I'm not wrong all this was his plan. He plans to become Hokage, and you hope that the clan will rise to power under his rule. Stupid Bastards, Danzo will take the first opportunity to turn you and the rest of the clan into his mindless puppets"

Shisui started laughing maniacally. "You conceited fool. He never intends to infiltrate the ANBU; he has already done that. Your team is filled with ROOT operatives."

Itachi's eyes widened under his ANBU mask. 'Shit! Shit! Shit! I have to get back before they take the file back to the council. I was such a fool. I fell into their trap; it was so simply laid, that it never occurred to me that it was far too easy. If Danzo gets his hands on the list, he can convince the Hokage to take action against Father and Mother. And I'm pretty sure that I'll be rotting in an ANBU prison with Ibiki before I can even help them out with this matter. I have to stop this.'

Shisui saw Itachi change his stance. "You aren't going anywhere my friend". He activated his Sharingan and charged at Itachi with a Kunai. Itachi ducked his slash and stared up at Shisui, his Sharingan eyes spinning from behind his ANBU mask.

* * *

Sasuke was running like his life depended on it. 'Stupid Naruto. He could easily have gotten a wall clock or even a table clock. Now because of the stooge, I'll get home late.' After academy, Naruto had requested Sasuke to help him out with some assignments that Iruka-Sensei had given him. At first he didn't want to go home late another night. But looking at the hordes of fan girls that had positioned themselves squarely in the path to the Uchiha clan compound, he decided it would be better to go help his friend. After all, how long could it take.

Sasuke could never have been any further from the truth. Although, it didn't take long for him to finish the report; it would have taken far less time had it not been for Naruto's complete lack of concentration. Then there was the incident, where he tried making Instant Ramen, only to find that the over-expired Ramen might have mutated into something green and smelly. And Naruto swore he saw it moving. WIth that fiasco, Naruto ran out to buy some Instant Ramen, leaving Sasuke fuming to be working on his report alone, while Naruto himself was frolicking around in the streets. All in all, by the time they were finished, Sasuke noticed that it was way past his time to reach home, almost near dinner time. Cursing under his breath, he reached the clan compound. Although he knew, very few people were around at this time of the evening, today was eerily quiet. Not a single soul was out on the streets **(A/N: Note that the ANBU Itachi had stationed are gone. Gives a slight idea about what might have happened. He he)**. He felt a foreboding sense, as he made his way towards his house. He slowly stepped into the house and called out "Mom? Dad? Nii-san?"

He heard a slight sound in the main hall. His heart was beating so loud he could hear it in his own ears. He picked up the pace as he almost jogged to the hall; the hall was open. He turned around and saw a sight that froze his blood.

Two ANBU were standing in the hall, and in front of them were the limp bodies of his parents, with a Kunai embedded in the back of their skull. From the looks of it, they had sat down for dinner and were waiting for their kids to arrive; when the ANBU arrived and made short work of the Uchiha patriarch and matriarch.

Sasuke lost his voice for a moment, before he let out a bloodcurdling scream. "MOM! DAD!"

* * *

Itachi was fighting tooth and nail with Shisui. He was gaining on Shisui when he heard a scream come from within the house. "MOM! DAD!".

Itachi feared the worst and lowered his defense for a second. Taking the opportunity, Shisui swiftly ducked down and stabbed Itachi in his gut. Itachi had noticed it at the last second, and moved so that the strike would not hit any of his vital organs. Still, the stab he took was painful. Itachi brought out his hands and shouted in an all familiar seal "**_Katon: Great Fireball_**". Shisui sidestepped to avoid the fireball, when he noticed a shuriken heading towards him. "_**Shuriken Kage Bunshin No Jutsu**_" he heard Itachi say, as the Shurikens changed into thousands of shadow clone shurikens charging towards him. Shisui mentally cursed, 'Shit!' He did his best to dodge all the Shuriken, when one of the Shuriken transformed back into Itachi and attacked him. Shisui parried his Kunai attacks and kicked Itachi in his wound. Itachi clutched his stomach and fell down, just as Shisui brought his Kunai down on him. Itachi vanished in a puff of smoke. Shisui widened his eyes 'He used _**Kage Bunshin No Jutsu**_'. Before he could think anymore, the real Itachi stepped from behind him, Katana in hand, and drove it through his back. Shisui looked down at his chest to see the blade of the Katana glistening in the moonlight bathed in his blood. Itachi withdrew his blade as Shisui fell to the ground. Itachi kneeled beside him and turned him over, "Why did you do this Shisui? You were better than this. I know you. I grew up with you."

Shisui whispered, "I thought what I did was for the best of the clan. He convinced me that this was the way to uphold the integrity of the clan"

Itachi asked, "Who? Who are you talking about? Danzo?"

Shisui shook his head, "No. The man with the Orange mask. All this was his plan. He asked me to approach Danzo with the plan." His breathing became hard "Beware of him, my brother … The red clouds are approaching". Shisui stopped breathing. Itachi sorrowfully looked at the one he considered his best friend, his brother, manipulated into doing something so heinous. He felt like crying, but his eyes started burning. It was painful, but Itachi grit his teeth as he threw away the ANBU mask that he was wearing. He scampered to the edge of the pond, and looked at his reflection in the moonlight. HIs Sharingan had changed its shape. In place of his tomoe shaped eyes, were the characteristic pinwheel formation of the Mangekyou Sharingan. Itachi heard a sound from within the house, that brought his attention back. 'Sasuke' he thought as he stood up, deactivating his Sharingan. But before he could do anything, an explosion rocked the house and something flew out of the window. Itachi instinctively caught it. It was Sasuke. He had burn marks on his arms that he had used to shield himself. The most striking thing Itachi noticed were his eyes. Sasuke had awakened the Sharingan. Placing Sasuke in an upright position on the ground, resting on the tree, he saw that Sasuke was scared out of his mind.

Itachi calmly looked at Sasuke and asked, "Otouto, what happened?"

Hearing Itachi Sasuke broke down, "Nii-san, Mom, Dad (sob) they're dead". He started crying, not even deactivating his Sharingan. From in-between his sobs, he explained Itachi. When he reached the room and saw his parents were dead, he grew terrified and angry. The ANBU who attacked Fugaku and Mikoto drew their swords and charged at Sasuke, who simply ran out of the hall; but he wasn't able to outrun them. Just as one of them was about to deliver the blow, he felt his eyes twitch and it felt like he could see everything in slow-motion. He was able to dodge the blow, and somehow fight the assailants with one of his father's kunais that he always kept with himself. Not before long, he found himself running away from them again. Only this time, he was able to swipe an exploding Kunai from one of the ANBU. He charged the Kunai with Chakra and threw it at the ANBU. The resulting explosion rocketed him out of the house. He broke down completely into his brothers arms, and before long the fatigue from using the Sharingan caused him to lose consciousness. Covering Sasuke with a Genjutsu in case anyone decided to snoop around, he went back into the burning inferno of his house. The two Shinobi, Sasuke had identified as ANBU were lying dead in the house. Itachi noticed the markings on their masks 'ROOT. Damn! Danzo has already made his move.' He quickly exited the house, hoisted the unconscious Sasuke on his shoulders and leapt from rooftop to rooftop. 'None of father's old associates are alive. The remaining Uchiha can't be trusted. Danzo will definitely pin this on me, and even if Sasuke can't be tied to the massacre, leaving him here is not without risk. If I am right, not even the Hokage will be on my side now; I have no other option. I have to escape Konoha with Sasuke. He rapidly made his way towards the village gates.

* * *

Naruto was tired. After Sasuke cursed him and left for his clan compound (much to his amusement; he had done a lot of things to purposefully delay him), the blond powerhouse had gone to the Training field. It was nighttime, and no one would bother him with their glares and insults. He practiced his Kunai throwing and basic Taijutsu stances for an hour. He was now simply lying on his second favorite spot in all of the village, his first being the head of the Yondaime Hokage monument. He was currently resting on a clear patch of the forest just outside the gates. Generally, he wouldn't be allowed to go out of the village. But he had noticed a couple of ANBU use a secret entrance to exit the village without alerting the guards at the gate. Years of pranking the ANBU and getting away with it had enabled Naruto to gain a certain amount of stealth training. He was able to suppress his massive Chakra reserves quite easily. The first time he used the secret exit, he discovered this hidden lake, beside which he was resting. He was enjoying his time. He suddenly tensed up when he noticed something coming towards him. There were 2 Chakra signatures, one of them was suppressing it, while the other was not. He jumped onto a tree branch and ran up to a higher branch using the tree walking exercise Itachi had taught him. He peeked out to see Itachi grabbing an unconscious Sasuke over his shoulder, while he clutched his bloody stomach with his other hand. He was running away from the village. In a fraction of a second, Naruto decided to follow Itachi and Sasuke, the only family he had.

* * *

Itachi stopped running in front of a cave. He laid down Sasuke, when he noticed a masked Chakra coming towards them. Flipping around on his heels, he brought out a Kunai to meet the pursuer. Almost immediately, Naruto came flying out of the woods to in front of him.

Itachi widened his eyes, "Naruto! What are you doing here?"

Naruto replied back, with a bit of anger in his voice. "I could ask you the same thing." He was angry that the only people he considered family were abandoning him.

"How did you get out in the first place. Izumo and Kotetsu wouldn't simply allow you to pass through."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, all anger out of his voice. "I generally use the ANBU secret exit to escape the village, when I feel like I need a time off"

Itachi rolled his eyes. Naruto would never change. "Back to the point, where are you taking Sasuke", asked Naruto. Itachi sighed,

"Naruto, it has become very dangerous for me and Sasuke to stay in the village. That is the reason that we are fleeing Konoha."

"But what about your parents. They will protect you guys." argued Naruto. He was sure that parents don't do that to children, even though he would never know.

"Naruto … our parents were murdered." Naruto was left speechless at this revelation. Itachi continued, "And if I am right, those who murdered him will be coming after Sasuke next. To top it off, I have been framed for something I didn't do."

Naruto was trembling. With fear, with anger, Itachi wasn't sure. He laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Go back Naruto. Konoha is your home. I pro…"

Itachi was cut off by Naruto, "Some home. No one in the village loves me. Hell, they hate me. And for what reason, I am not sure. You were the only guys who meant anything to me."

"That's not true Naruto. There are a lot more than just us." retorted Itachi.

"Sure, there's Teuchi and Ayame as well as the Old Man Hokage. But they are all nice to me. With you and Sasuke, I feel at home. You guys are my brothers. Nii-san, please don't tell me to leave you, for I will never do that." Naruto's voice was almost cracking, tears threatening to fall.

Itachi was stunned at this revelation. Sure Naruto used to affectionately call him Nii-san, and he used to call him Otouto. He never realized that Naruto literally meant that. He was angry at the bastard villagers that caused him so much grief. But with Naruto missing, he knew the Hokage would send Hunter Nins after them and Scouts to track them. There was no way, the Hokage would leave Naruto. The fact that Naruto was the son of the Yondaime would only strengthen his resolve to find him. The only way to stop the Hunter Nins would be convince the Hokage that there was no need for that. In the current situation, Itachi wouldn't be able to do anything to talk to the Hokage. The only other way was to stage his death. Or his murder at the hands of one of the villagers.

Itachi looked at Naruto intently. "Ok Naruto, if you want to continue with us, I'll need some things of yours. 2 bottles of your blood and some of your hair. And that orange vest you're wearing. If you can give me all these, I'll let you tag along." Naruto was only too happy to do as was asked of him. The blood part made him a bit uneasy, but with him being able to be with Sasuke and Itachi Nii-san all the time, it was worth whatever little pain he had to endure.

* * *

**(A/N: Graphic Content. The following scene contains details of desecration of a dead body in vivid details. No, not necrophilia. Just plain and simple gore. If you want you can skip it. The long and short of it is that Itachi made a gruesome mess of body he staged as Naruto's and planted evidence that he was tortured and killed by irate villagers. Itachi felt that the gruesomeness of the body as well as the fact it was Naruto would encourage the doctors to not make a thorough examination. For more details you'll have to check the next section.)**

Itachi was now standing in Naruto's apartment, staring at his masterpiece. He felt like puking. He had obtained a corpse of a kid from the morgue, and using his knowledge of medical ninjutsu and precise chakra control, he was able to make the corpse look like Naruto. Albeit a dead one. He had shaved off his head, and etched the words _Demonspawn_ and _Die Demon Die_ on his shaved scalp. He dressed the morphed body in the horrid orange jumpsuit that Naruto had provided, stole the body out of the morgue and into Naruto's decrepit apartment. He tied the dead 'Naruto' to a chair, gagged his mouth shut with one of his frog toys and some tape. He proceeded with the unthinkable deed. He littered the floor with his blond strands of hair, using a mild fire jutsu to give the effect of being singed. Taking out his Kunai, he started slashing and gashing the body. He knew that a detailed analysis would show them that the wounds were post-mortem. But he also believed that the doctors at the morgue hated the kid so much, they would hardly do anything properly. Besides, by the time he was done, very few would be able to stand the sight without emptying their stomach. Just to be safe though, he used a syringe to inject small quantities of Naruto's blood into the wounds he left on the dead 'Naruto'. It would at least throw them off trail with a preliminary examination. By the time Itachi was finished, the body and the jumpsuit were littered with cuts and wounds. He used the blood to drench the suit with Naruto's blood turning his orange jumpsuit a sickening color of red. Itachi went around the apartment trying to find one other thing - Instant Ramen. If anything, the blond was known for his love for the food. Itachi took out a couple of cups of Ramen, pouring the water he had set to boil into the cups. He took the boiling ramen and splashed it across the dead body. This would make the body smell of Ramen, like Naruto usually smelled, while at the same time would look like a final insult the villagers made to the boy. Using his favorite food to torture him. Next, he took out his Katana, and stabbed the body multiple times, using the remaining blood in the first bottle to complete the effect. He took out a Kunai and gouged out the eyes; his blue cerulean eyes were something that the Hokage could identify. The brown eyes of the lifeless 'Naruto' would be a dead giveaway **(A/N: No Pun intended)**. Finally, he took the other bottle of blood and emptied it into a polythene packet. He secured the packet on 'Naruto's' chest, took a few steps back and threw a low powered explosive Kunai at the packet. Upon impact, 'Naruto's' chest and the blood pack blew up, creating a gory mess of the dead kid. His chest was now opened up, like a red flower, dripping blood on the ground, while his innards were either burnt or now strewn across the red floor. The walls of the apartment were splattered with his flesh, guts and blood. Even for Itachi this was bit too much to bear and he promptly threw up. Deciding that he had enough, he left the apartment.

**(A/N: Graphic content ends)**

Once outside, Itachi created a shadow clone, had it henge into a random civilian. His clone would wait for any official announcement on the trio, before dispelling. That way Itachi would be able to keep a track of what happened after he had left. Itachi soon left via the secret ANBU entrance to where both his brothers were.

* * *

Next morning, Naruto woke up to the sounds of birds chirping and the sun rays hitting his closed eyes. He clenched his eyes, trying to block the sun out.

"Come on sleepy head. Wake up now." Naruto's eyes flew wide open. He knew that voice well enough. It was his friend, his brother, Sasuke. He sat up, to see Sasuke sitting beside a small fire that Itachi managed to light. Itachi was currently roasting some rabbit meat on the flames. Sasuke looked a little worse for wear. He managed to put on a weak smile as he saw Naruto get up. Naruto smiled back warmly. He knew it would take some time for Sasuke to get over the death of his parents, but he would do just fine. Apparently, Itachi had informed Sasuke of Naruto and his escape from Konoha. Sasuke was not surprised that Naruto saw him and Itachi as his brother. He saw Naruto in the same light. Suddenly, Itachi stopped, as he processed the information his dispelled clone provided.

"I have news for you. Looks like I have been declared an S-class missing-nin for murdering ANBU captain Shisui Uchiha." Itachi said. He stopped as the information sank into the two kids, while he thought to himself I'm not surprised though. I figured that Danzo must have used that piece of falsified evidence that I recovered to prove that I was supporting the coup d'etat. While at the same time, justifying the need to eliminate the prominent members of the Uchiha clan. And since, Crow (the guy he gave the documents to for safekeeping) was a ROOT, Danzo might have stated the information came directly from Shisui.' He continued, "Since Sasuke was never involved with any of this, nor do they have any evidence that suggests the same. He was simply declared as missing from the village, with a possibility of being kidnapped by me. And as for Naruto, they presume you are dead."

"NANI?" both of them shouted. Itachi had not told them of his nightly escapades. Itachi chuckled and said, "Well, with all those things that Naruto provided me, I was able to stage his death. I made it quite horrific. Add to that the fact that the doctors hated Naruto, they didn't dig deep. The official report says that he was killed by irate villagers." He recalled back the clones memories; a lavender eyed girl, possibly the Hyuuga heiress, had collapsed to the ground crying on hearing this news. Other friends of his were visibly disturbed as well.

Naruto looked into the fire sadly, "I guess everyone was quite happy with that.". "Au Contraire. Your friends seemed to have taken it quite hard. I even saw one of them, collapse to the ground crying. And, I think it was the Inuzuka heir, Kiba? Well he retorted that the villagers hadn't done anything for so long, and Sasuke's disappearance was not just a coincidence. He believes that Sasuke murdered you before fleeing with me. The sentiment was shared by his mother Tsume. I think he holds some sort of resentment towards you Sasuke."

"I just called him doggy once." he smirked. Naruto was beaming with happiness knowing that his friends cared for him so much. He started having second thoughts about leaving Konoha. Sasuke asked "So, what happened next?"

Itachi's face turned to a scowl as he continued, "The people started celebrating hearing this, heralding Sasuke as the one who delivered them from the demon. Although there is no proof of this, and the official statement is still that Naruto was murdered by villagers, you are being held as a hero in the village. They even demanded the Hokage to send Ninja to track you down." He added after a moments pause, "Don't worry. I don't think the Hokage would, nor would the council send any trackers when you are still with me. With Naruto, the council would have seen a weapon that they would want to retrieve back and the Hokage would do anything to get Naruto back. But with Naruto out of the way, the Hokage won't spend that much effort in finding us. And for that, Naruto's existence must be kept a secret." He pulled out his ANBU weasel mask and fixed it on Naruto's face, while taking a piece of cloth and tying it on his spiky hair, covering it immediately. "There no one will figure out who you are" smiled Itachi.

Naruto's expression were covered by the mask, although if one noticed, they could make out that he was happy. He paused and asked "Itachi Nii-san, what do you mean use me as a weapon."

Itachi sighed and said, "Today is not the day for this. There are a lot of secrets regarding you Naruto; and rest assured I will reveal all of them to you. Just not today. In time. Right now, I will train you as best as I can, before I send you off to Konoha. I doubt that is anytime soon, but when the time comes and you return, no one will be able to lay a finger on you."

"NANI? You're sending us back to Konoha" they shouted in unison

"Yes. However much you hate Konoha, it is your home. There are a lot of things that need be done. The Uchiha clan has fallen into depravity. I trust you Sasuke with the responsibility of bringing it back to its former glory. As for Danzo and the council, they have to be dealt with proper discretion. They need to be tactfully and strategically removed from the picture. If anyone tries to kill them, it would result in a civil war in Konoha. As for the rest of Konoha, it is just a mere shadow of its former self. I entrust you Naruto to see to it that Konoha is once again revered not just for its military strength, but also for the ideals and goodness in people" 'And then there's that Orange Masked guy. I have to find out more about him. Shit! I can't even use Jiraiya's network anymore.'

Sasuke broke his train of thought, "Ano Nii-san, how do I go about doing that?"

Itachi smiled and replied, "Simple. You become the clan head."

Naruto looked at Itachi quizzically and asked, "And what about me? How do I all that stuff you asked me to do?"

Itachi's smile grew wider, "You become the Hokage."

* * *

_A/N: A huge flashback chapter. Whew! This was the largest chapter that I had ever written, all thanks to a whole day of doing nothing, but sit in front of your laptop. Anyways, the next chapter, although not entirely a flashback, will still be another huge flashback, that completes the story started in this chapter. Ciao._


	5. Rise of the Yoinokuchi

_A/N: The mystery start unveiling as the Akatsuki plan their next move. Hope you enjoy this chapter guys. Anyways, I've also been working on another story - Sins of Our Fathers. I don't have any chapter down for that. I'm still at the storyboard. But as soon as I have a story, I'll let you guys know. Oh and please don't forget to review._

_By the way, is it just me or do these chapters keep getting longer and longer. I don't think any of my upcoming chapters will be this long. 10K+ words. (Self Hi-Five)_

* * *

**Reviewer's Corner**

_Shinobi of Life: where's my prize?_ **Ah well, it got lost on the road of life . ((LIAR)). ((Sweatdrop))**

_Diresituation: I really like this so far, though my one question is Haku going to have feelings for Naruto or Sasuke and if she does how will Haku cope when the two boys go to their pairings later on?_ **Well, other than the 2 pairs (NaruHina and SasuSaku), I haven't been able to come up with any proper pairings. I'm always open to suggestions. There are a couple of characters that I won't be able to pair with Haku or maybe even other characters. The characters and the reasons will be revealed as the story progresses; NO SPOILERS. But well for Haku, I don't know. Suggest me a couple of pairings (not just Haku, any pairing for that matter) that you think would work. If possible, give some reasons so that I may be able to intertwine their story with the main plot.**

* * *

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

"_**Jutsu**_"

* * *

The dark and dank cavern that was serving as the meeting place for the Akatsuki was eerily quiet. The astral projection of the leader was standing on a rock, his pupil-less ringed purple eyes contemplating something. Finally he broke the silence "Your plan has its credits Orochimaru, but how are you going to deal with the rebel leaders?"

Orochimaru replied, "Well, I have spies in the rebel ranks that can start the work. And we can have Tobi hear finish the work"

Hearing his name, Tobi stood up. He was wearing an orange mask with a spiral pattern on it, with only one eye visible. He started jumping up and down "Yes! Finally Tobi gets to do something. Don't worry Hebi-teme, whatever you ask of Tobi, Tobi will do it."

Orochimaru was glaring at the name Tobi used, but kept his anger in check.

"Kisame, you said Zabuza may be a problem. See to it that he isn't"

"Hai Leader-sama!". WIth that Kisame stood up and shunshin-ed away.

* * *

Zabuza was sitting on the river banks contemplating on his mission. His mission to infiltrate the Akatsuki. Only moments ago, Kisame had excused himself to relieve himself. Still staring at the rippling water he looked back at his past actions in retrospect.

When the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura started the Bloodline Wars for almost no reason, Zabuza found it a bit odd. No sane leader of a village would order for the extermination of all their bloodlines. All the more in a village which was almost entirely built on bloodlines. The bloodline traits being passed on from parents to children made it more of a village heirloom. And for the Mizukage to go on a rampage stating that the bloodlines were tainting the Shinobi; it was pretty odd. In any case, Zabuza had attempted to assassinate the Mizukage in hopes of ending the bloodshed. Only for him to learn that the Mizukage was none other than the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. Rest assured, Zabuza failed and had to flee. This was the second time a member of the Seven Swordsman had fled becoming a missing-nin. The first being Kisame Hoshigaki. After this debacle, he was in the Hot Spring Country, when he was approached by a Red Haired lady named Mei Terumi. She was a general in the rebel forces. She had her suspicions on the group called Akatsuki and their involvement in the bloodline wars. The problem was the Akatsuki were also one of their largest sources of funds. She asked for Zabuza to investigate into this as she didn't want to confront the leader of the rebel forces without proof. Any baseless accusations against the Akatsuki could backfire on them and they could lose a major benefactor.

In a bid to gain the attention of the Akatsuki, he had to slander his name; he started spreading word on the purpose for the attempted assassination being out of boredom. "Well, I was sitting at my home, when I noticed that my Kubikiribocho was becoming a bit dull. So I decided that I needed to sharpen it on someone's neck, someone important, like the Mizukage. But that rat bastard had a trick or two up his sleeve. Damn monsters …" he remembered saying to a couple of people at a bar. Well, at the end it did pay off. The Akatsuki noticed him and came up to him with a mission they needed his assistance on. Deep down he knew, that the Akatsuki were always on the lookout for possible members. Apparently, one of their more affluent and regular clients was having a bit of a problem with a local bridge-maker named Tazuna. With him going to Konoha for Ninja help, Kisame wanted Zabuza to help him out on the mission. For Zabuza, this meant that all of his efforts to build a name for himself had come to fruition. Kisame mentioned that this would also function as a test for him to show himself worthy of being a member of the Akatsuki.

Everything was going according to plan, only to get interrupted by those brats and the Sannin. During their retreat, Kisame mentioned that the unexpected guests belonged to a group called the Yoinokuchi; they had been interfering with and disrupting their work for the past year. He had asked how big a threat the group was. "They're not a threat; more of a nuisance" retorted Kisame.

His chain of thoughts was broken by a rustling in the nearby bushes. He looked to see that Kisame had returned. "So now, what's the next step?" asked Zabuza.

"In time" replied Kisame. He continued, "Zabuza, so what do you think? Are the Akatsuki really double-crossing the Kiri rebel forces?" Zabuza was caught off-guard by the question; however years of experience allowed the 'Demon of the Mist' to keep his composure. "What do you mean?"

"Ha ha! Don't take us to be fools Zabuza. If nothing else, Akatsuki is one of the most powerful organizations in the world. And since information is power, we pride ourselves in holding all the cards. We know that you are looking for information on our involvement in the bloodline wars."

To say that Zabuza was shocked would be an understatement. "How? This was supposed to be very secretive."

"If you remember the adage, 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer'. The Kiri rebels were never our friends. Keeping tabs on all of them was very important for us. Although we still don't know who exactly has these misgivings regarding the rebel benefactor. We were hoping you could shed some light on that."

Zabuza smirked, "It seems you have all the information. I have none. So, lets start by what your true motives are? I can't see any benefit that the Akatsuki can gain from this war other than weapons supply" Zabuza was hoping to buy some time to figure out a strategy against Kisame.

Kisame said, "Well, Akatsuki does own a lot of weapons facilities via a couple of our outer circle members. You know, the ones that provide the funding for the organization to work. For them it is just a profitable situation to invest in. Gato was one of the most prominent members of Akatsuki inner circle. Its a pity the fool had to show up and get himself killed. The Kiri wars are going to suffer because of that. Anyways, we have more outer circle members to fill his shoes. The true purpose for the Akatsuki is however known only to the inner circle. We mean to capture all the Bijuus." Zabuza's eyes widened hearing this. "I think you know of Yagura being the Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. With him under our control, we already have the Sanbi in our possession. What we intend to achieve with the bloodline wars is to leave Kiri severely damaged. With the rebel forces and the Kiri Shinobi obliterating each other and with Yagura dead, the entire region of Kiri would be up for grabs. Iwa always had a penchant for annexation. They wouldn't leave an opportunity to invade. Kumo on the other hand has an unhealthy addiction to breed more bloodlines. With no rebels protecting them, Kumo would surely go after these bloodlines. And with that Iwa would bring in their Jinchuuriki - the Yonbi and the Gobi, while Kumo would send their Jinchuuriki - the Nibi and the Hachibi. An all out war between the mighty Bijuus. At the end, they would end up severely beaten up, making it easier for us to capture those 4. In one shot, we obtain 5 Bijuus."

Zabuza took some time to process all the information. 'Yagura was being controlled. And by the Akatsuki. This means that both the sides of the wars are being played by these bastards. To them this just a game of Shogi.' He took a deep breath. "I believe I had heard that Gato was supplying the Kiri Shinobi forces with weapons. This would mean that the balance has shifted towards the rebels. If you continue your act, the rebels win. If you don't, you leave the entire thing to chance. You guys got majorly screwed up by the Yoinokuchi." Kisame smirked, "True, but who told you that we didn't have a backup plan. Kiri will fall, irrespective of Gato's support in the matter." Zabuza cursed under his breath, "Why are you so free in relaying these information to me? You know I'd take them to the rebel forces. With or without proof, they would be prudent to disassociate with you."

"Oh but you won't tell them anything. See the problem is … you'll be dead". Saying this, Kisame lunged forward towards Zabuza with his Samehada. Zabuza brought out his Kubikiribocho to defend himself. Kisame swung his sword but Zabuza ducked underneath it, and lashed out at him. Kisame jumped back to avoid the blade. Kisame brought his hands together in a hand-seal and shouted "_**Suiton: Water Bullet**_". Zabuza used a Kawarimi to defend himself from the speeding water bullet. He used his speed to jump behind Kisame and slashed a wide arc with his blade. Kisame jumped high up, and slashed his blade vertically and caught Zabuza in his shoulder. Flesh sheared away from his shoulder. "Aarghh!" yelled Zabuza as he jumped back from the shark skinned man. He held up his left hand on his bloody right shoulder. 'I have to end this fight soon. Something is fishy here. Kisame is not even using his more powerful jutsus. In any case, I have to get this information to Mei.' "_**Kirigakure no jutsu**_" yelled Zabuza. The entire forest got covered in thick mist. Zabuza being a master in the silent assassination technique moved in for the kill. Kisame's jugular.

He had his assassination Kunai poised to strike at his unsuspecting victim. Zabuza was a few faces behind Kisame, with Kisame's back turned towards him. 'I am running out of Chakra to keep the mist up. I need to finish off Kisame now'. Zabuza uses a burst of Chakra to reach Kisame's back and strikes at the back of his neck. The kunai never connects. Kisame had brought Samehada across his back to protect his neck. He turns his head to see Zabuza and smirks, "Don't forget. I was a part of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, just as you." Zabuza returned the smirk, "Who said I forgot?" and turns to water. Kisame's eyes widened, 'A Mizu Bunshin. Shit!' Kisame never got the chance to turn his head before the real Zabuza came up from the front and lopped off Kisame's head. 'Whew! And that's the end of Kisame Hoshigaki' thought Zabuza as he brought his hands together in a seal and dissipated the mist.

* * *

Naruto looked at the people gathered in the campsite as he finished recalling their escape from Konoha. Jiraiya and Kakashi were deep in thought. Naruto looked towards the other 2 members. Both of them had jet black hair and brown eyes. Both of them looked mildly shocked at the story Naruto had recounted.

Jiraiya spoke up "Well, that makes a lot of sense actually. The rest of the Uchiha clan has become cronies to Danzo. Most of the Uchiha Shinobi are already in ROOT. And the Uchiha clan has become Danzo's personal Sharingan factory. The old clan grounds are almost empty. All those Uchihas that have been able to manifest their Sharingan are taken in by Danzo. And since that is already consented by the Clan heads, the Hokage has no say in it. The clan grounds now house the 'failures' of the clan; those who haven't been able to attain the Sharingan. And I am not even going to talk about the ways that the clan members try to get the Sharingan."

Sasuke interrupted him, concern lacing his voice, "Wait! What methods are you talking about. What are they doing?"

Jiraiya let out a sigh. "Well, they pit the kids against captured nins. Mind you these kids are still in the academy. Either the kids come out victorious by killing the nin or it ends in a bloodbath for the kid. And even then if the Sharingan is not manifested, they are removed from the academy and left to rot in the old clan grounds. Danzo has gone as far as getting the Hokage to provide additional services and benefits to Uchiha families that have more number of Sharingan wielders. The only good that has come about is that the stuck-up pricks have started marrying out of their own clan. I estimate that in a year or two, the clan with grow to almost twice the original size." Sasuke looked down at the ground, clearly hurt at the depravity of his own clan.

Kakashi broke the silence. "Tell me though, if Itachi wants you people to return to Konoha, why the hell did he form the Yoinokuchi." Both the adults looked as a sense of pain and depression fell on the faces of the young members of the Yoinokuchi. 'Kakashi must have hit a nerve' thought Jiraiya.

"That's because the Yoinokuchi was never founded by Itachi" stated naruto. Jiraiya and Kakashi were confused. "Then who …" started Jiraiya. Naruto never let him finish, "You see Itachi is dead. The Yoinokuchi was formed by me"

Kakashi and Jiraiya were shocked. "What do you mean Itachi is dead? What happened in the 5 years?" asked Jiraiya.

"Well, a lot" replied Naruto as he continued relating the events following their escape.

_Flashback (4 years ago)_

It had been almost a year since Naruto and the Uchiha brothers escaped from Konoha. Naruto had often thought back to his days in the village. 'Well the only people who are going to miss me are the Old Man Hokage, Teuchi Jiji and Ayame-neechan. The rest of them only hate me.' He always found a way to discourage himself from returning to the horrid village. Right now they were pretty close to the Hidden Mist Village. If Konoha did send any Hunter Nins, the last place they would look for 2 bloodline carriers is in a place riddled with civil turmoil. Itachi was confident he would be able to fend off any attack on their little group.

Itachi had gone out to gather some information. With Jiraiya's network out of reach for them, Itachi had to rely on his own methods of obtaining the information. He returned to find Naruto and Sasuke sparring with each other. He had been able to teach them all the basic Chakra control exercises, and a couple of fire Jutsus. Naruto had the most amount of problem using Fire Jutsus, while Sasuke had less difficulty. Itachi had both of his siblings tested. Naruto had Wind as the primary element, while Sasuke had Lightning. Itachi figured that Fire was Sasuke's secondary element which was the reason for him to be able to perform Fire Jutsus with such ease; the same was not true for Naruto. He had to spend almost thrice the amount of Chakra Sasuke used to be able to get the Jutsu down. Itachi smiled at the progress that his siblings had shown over the past year. He walked up to the pair and said, "Alright, lets break for some time. Naruto-otouto, I need to talk to you about somethings. Would you mind coming with me?"

Naruto happily beamed ,"Sure Nii-san; See you in a minute Sasuke."

Itachi and Naruto walked a distance away from the prone body of Sasuke. Even though his Chakra control and jutsus were better, he didn't have the monstrous Chakra reserves that Naruto had. Naruto looked up at Itachi seriously and said, "What's up nii-san? Why couldn't Sasuke hear this?". Itachi smiled "Because it is a secret regarding you." Naruto pouted and replied, "I don't care. I don't want to keep any secrets between us."

Itachi knelt down on his knee to look into his eyes and he softly said, "The secret is why the villagers hate you". Naruto's eyes widened. He looked down before he said, "Ano, if you know and still don't care I believe I can hope Sasuke to do the same". Itachi smiled at the amount of trust Naruto had on Sasuke. He turned to Sasuke and called him to the meeting. "I thought this was some secret meeting between you and Naruto. What gives?" Itachi smiled and replied, "Naruto wants you to know his secret". Sasuke looked at Naruto with a smirk, "He would anyways tell it to me"

Itachi asked both the kids to sit down, before doing so himself. "Well, before I go ahead; what do you know about the Kyuubi no Kitsune." Sasuke and Naruto were a bit confused. Sasuke took in a deep breath before he recounted whatever was mentioned in the academy. "The Kyuubi no Kitsune was a Nine Tailed Demon Fox that had attacked Konoha almost 9 years ago. The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, had sacrificed his life and used a Kinjutsu to kill the demon fox and protect the village." Itachi sighed and smiled, "If I remember correctly, he defeated the fox, not killed it." Naruto piped in, "Itachi nii-san I really don't see the difference."

Itachi continued, "Well, you see the Kyuubi no Kitsune was a Bijuu of such incredible power that it could not be killed, not even by the Yondaime Hokage." Naruto and Sasuke looked at him with wide-eyes, "Nani? If he didn't kill the Kyuubi, what the hell happened?" Itachi's countenance bore a sullen expression, "You see, the Kyuubi couldn't be killed, so the Yondaime used a Kinjutsu to seal the demon fox into a vessel. It couldn't be any inanimate object; it had to be a human being and a newborn child at that, one whose umbilical cord had just been cut." Naruto paled. Everything clicked into place. He could see the reason as clear as day. Itachi had paused to look at Naruto's expression, 'So he understood'. Sasuke on the other hand didn't have any idea. "Ano. I still don't get what you're getting at." Itachi breathed heavily, "Sasuke, what is the date the fox attacked; you have a pretty good memory, don't you?" Sasuke smiled, "Sure, October the 10th". Itachi turned to Naruto and asked, "And Naruto, what is so special about that day?" Sasuke was confused, 'What does he mean what's special about that day? That's the day the Kyuubi was killed'. Naruto looked down, afraid at what might happen next. He managed to mumble, "I-It's my b-birthday". This time realization dawned on Sasuke. "You mean the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi in …" Itachi cut in, "Yes Sasuke, the Kyuubi was sealed inside Naruto".

Naruto looked at Sasuke, apprehensive of his reaction. And true to his fear, Sasuke looked at him with anger and hate? 'Shit! I should've listened to Itachi nii-san. Now Sasuke will hate me as well.' What he heard however, bowled him over. "Those bastard villagers! How the hell do they blame Naruto for that? Those idiots can't even differentiate between the jailor and the captive. They should be grateful towards Naruto for keeping the fox demon at bay, and yet they treat him like this?" His rage subsided a bit after his emotional outburst. "But why weren't any one of us told about this?" Itachi replied, "Well the Sandaime made a law to not speak to anyone about this, especially the younger generation; this way to make sure Naruto got a normal life". Sasuke snorted, "Yeah, we all saw how that turned out". Itachi nodded sadly, "Yes, the villagers took the law as a way to get back at Naruto; they started shunning him altogether."

A thought crossed Sasuke's mind but Naruto beat him to it. "But why me? I mean, I know I am an orphan and stuff, but why did it have to be me. The stupid Yondaime ruined my life. And to think I looked up to the guy." Naruto's face was streaming with tears. Itachi smiled. "Naruto, do you truly think the Hokage would pick a random child to bear such a responsibility?" Sasuke looked at Itachi quizzically, "What do you mean?" he asked. Itachi continued, "I mean, come to think of it, what kind of Hokage would he be if he was to take someone's child and seal the Kyuubi into him. No, he would never ask the villagers to do something he would never be ready to do himself. For that reason, the Yondaime chose his own son to bear this monstrous responsibility."

Silence filled the small clearing. Sasuke broke it. "NANI? YOU MEAN NARUTO IS THE SON OF THE YONDAIME HOKAGE?" Itachi smiled and nodded. Naruto was dumbfounded. He was the son of the Yondaime Hokage. The greatest Hokage ever. The Hokage who gave his life … sealing the Kyuubi into him.

"WHY THE HELL DID HE DO THIS TO ME? HIS OWN SON. AND WHY THE HELL WASN'T ANYONE TOLD ANYTHING. I am sure if the villagers knew they would have treated me better." Naruto's outburst ended with him crying his heart out. He knew he was an orphan, he had no father. But the realization that his father, the Yondaime, had died protecting the village saddened him to no extent. After his tears dried up, Itachi gently laid his hands over Naruto's shoulders. "You must understand, you were the Yondaime's son. He couldn't have asked anybody else to bear the responsibility of jailing the Kyuubi. And after your parents died, with no one to protect you, giving you the family name of Namikaze would have garnered you the hate of your father's enemies at an age when you wouldn't be able to defend yourself. It was done in a bid to protect you."

Naruto kept his head down, but nodded lightly. His heart was still heavy from coming to know about his father. Suddenly a thought crossed his mind. "Nii-san, do you know who my mother was?" Itachi smiled and said, "Hmm. I do, as well as your godfather." Naruto looked at him with his brows furrowed, "My Godfather? Who -". Before he could continue, they were made aware of someone running towards the clearing. They looked up to see a small girl, a little older than Naruto and Sasuke. She wearing a white kimono, and had long black hair that reached her shoulders. Her entire hands as well as her kimono was stained with blood. She looked at the group in fear, specifically at Itachi. Itachi was a bit concerned with her appearance. "Hey there" he said, "Are you hurt? Are you bleeding?" His voice was of genuine concern. The girl looked at him in horror as Itachi inched closer to her.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME" she screamed. She held her bloodied hands out and shards of ice flew out from her extended hands towards Itachi. Itachi saw this wide-eyed and dodged her. In a flash, Itachi was behind her and twisted her arm behind her. The girl was in tears; more out of fear than out of pain. Itachi calmly continued, "Please calm down. We don't want to hurt you; please don't make me hurt you" She wept and cried out "No! You want to hurt me as well. Just like my father." Itachi didn't release his grip. "What do you mean?". "My father k-killed my mother. He tried killing me, but I k-killed h-him in-instead." She broke down completely and started wailing over her dead parents. "All because of my cursed blood. My father told me that I was a demon because I could control ice".

Itachi looked at her sadly and released her. She fell to the ground in a heap, still weeping copiously. Itachi looked at his confused siblings, "In Kiri, to have a bloodline like this little girl is considered to be demonic. Her mother was probably trying to hide her and the girls powers from her father. When he found out, well …" he trailed off. Naruto looked at the girl painfully. He got up and asked her, "Hey, what's your name?" The girl managed to say between her sobs, "My n-name is Haku" He started walking towards Haku. Haku stood up gingerly trying to figure out his motives. Even the Uchiha brother were eying him warily. Naruto came very close to Haku. Haku was scared at this. She wanted to raise her hands and defend herself, but something in the boy's eyes calmed her. It hurt her heart just looking at his eyes. The next thing Naruto did surprised everyone.

Naruto threw an arm around her neck and hugged her. Haku was slightly taller than Naruto, but she was slightly hunched at the events of the day, so it wasn't that difficult for Naruto to reach up to her. Haku was shocked. Naruto said with a broken voice, "I am sorry for your loss Haku. I know what it is to be hated for something that you have no control over. To feel the despair of being alone. But know this you are never alone. I understand you Haku. And I'll always be by your side. I'll be your friend to laugh with you and to share your pain with. There is already too much pain in the world. It becomes easier to share it with others." He released her from her hug, smiling gently, "And I Naruto Uzumaki" he pauses for a moment before continuing "Namikaze will be your friend"

Itachi smiled at Naruto making a new friend. Haku for the first time smiled at Naruto and burst out in tears of happiness. "Th-Thank you so m-much Naruto-san" Naruto pulled out a piece of cloth from his black pant and wiped her eyes. "Naruto is just fine" He turned to Itachi sheepishly grinning "Hey Nii-san, can Haku come with us? I'm sorry I didn't ask you, but I thought it would be the best for her." Itachi smiled, 'I would be more than happy to get such an amazing kid to join us. Her abilities would make the team even stronger than before. But Naruto, you are truly extraordinary - an image of your father. Always thinking about others. Even now, your only reason to let Haku join us was for her to be safe with us amongst friends, and not for her Hyoton. I can truly see you becoming a great leader.' "Sure Naruto, Haku can join us … if she wants to that is." Naruto turned around to Haku waving his hands in front of her "Absolutely! If you don't want to join us, no biggie. Just know that you'll always be welcome." Haku was overflowing with happiness. She had made her first true friends. People she could call her family after she had lost her own just moments ago. "I would be honored to join you all Naruto-Sa … I mean Naruto" she smiled. "Awesome", Naruto started jumping up and down on the ground. Suddenly a piece of the conversation Naruto had with Haku struck her. "Ano, what do you mean you know what it feels like to be hated for something you have no control over?" Naruto looked at Haku with a sense of fear, and looked towards Itachi. Itachi calmly placed his hand over Naruto's troubled shoulder. "Naruto, it is your secret and now that you know about it, I believe it is only right that you'd be the one to reveal it to the ones you feel are deserving of knowing. And one more thing, trust in your own judgement. You've made friends with both Sasuke as well as me, but none of us judge you for your secret. Your secret is a part of you and you should be proud of it. I know that you were hated by the villagers for this, but make no mistake, not all of them share their plebeian mentality. And I know it for sure, Haku shares your pain. She wouldn't think any different of you." Haku was mildly intrigued at the discussion. She couldn't help herself, "What do you mean? Trust me Naruto, whatever it is, I can never think any different of my friend. You saved me from my darkness. I started thinking that I wouldn't be wanted, loved or needed anymore. But you saved me from that. Trust me, I will not think any different of my savior." Naruto sighed before he sat down on the ground with Itachi, Sasuke and Haku.

For the next hour or so, Haku came to know of Naruto's true lineage … and his tenant. Even she was confused as to why he would be hated for it. But she couldn't deny that he had felt the same hate that her father's eyes had shown her. The only difference being she felt it for a day; He felt it for almost 8 years. She then came to know of the events that led to Naruto's escape from the village. Itachi continued with his previous discussion on Naruto's mother - Kushina Uzumaki, the heiress of the now extinct Uzumaki clan of Uzushiogakure, the village destroyed during the Second Great Shinobi World War. As Itachi had described, Naruto had inherited his father's looks but his mother's attitude. As well as her love from Ramen. She was a skilled Kunoichi, also known as the Red Habanero, due to the Red color of her hair and her temper. He came to know of Jiraiya, the legendary Sannin, the spymaster of the leaf village, Minato's sensei and Naruto's godfather. Naruto was angry that Jiraiya was never there to help him out. But Itachi managed to convince the blond that Jiraiya had done everything to protect Naruto from threats, both domestic and international. His spies in Konoha prevented him from being the target of assassination attempts, while he himself would go around the lands to prevent any enemies of causing harm to Konoha and indirectly to Naruto. As for trying to raise him, Jiraiya would be the last person who would be able to raise a kid. The man was a pervert; he used to peep into women's bath to get inspiration for his 'adult-themed literature' - the Icha Icha series. That seemed to get Naruto's attention. In a moment, he had gone from whining over his godfather not taking him in, to being happy for not doing so. He imagined what kind of a pervert he would have turned into and shivered at the thought of it. As night fell, Itachi's shadow clone brought in the news of an attempted assassination on the Yondaime Mizukage by none other than Zabuza Momochi. Itachi knew the place would no longer be safe; it would turn into a bloody battlefield for the Bloodline wars. That very night, the group made their escape.

_End Flashback_

"For the next couple of years, we kept shifting from place to place, never settling down at any place. In our truest essence, we became vagabonds. We even crossed the borders as a family of 3 brothers and a sister." said Naruto, "I would always end up being adopted because of my hair."

"So that's when you formed the Yoinokuchi?" Jiraiya asked.

Naruto shook his head, "No. The group was formed just a year ago. Up until that point, the goal was to train to be strong enough to return to the village, find a way to depose the village and Uchiha elders and help Itachi back by exposing the truth."

Kakashi asked, "So, what changed?"

Naruto's eyes held a pain beyond his years as he said "Everything"

_Flashback (1 year ago)_

In a dark cave, the Akatsuki members were gathering. The leader spoke up, "I think it is time we start collecting our Bijuus."

An astral projection with a ponytail spoke. "But isn't that useless. I mean with the Kyuubi dead, our plan really fails doesn't it. Hnn?"

The leader glared at the ponytailed astral projection and said, "You will do as you are asked. Nothing more, nothing less. Do you get it Deidata?"

Deidara cringed at the glare of the purple ringed eyes, "Yes Leader-sama, perfectly clear. Hnn"

The leader broke his glare, "Orochimaru, Kisame. Your first task is to obtain the Ichibi from Sunagakure."

"Hai Leader-sama" replied Zabuza. "Offf-courssse Leader-ssssama" came the snake-like voice of Orochimaru. With that the astral projections cut off.

In Amegakure, on top of the tallest tower, an orange spiky haired man was sitting, his eyes closed. He was wearing the trademark clothes of the Akatsuki, black cloak with red clouds. He has black piercings in his nose. A woman walked up behind him, her hair was blue, wearing the same attire as the male was. "Pein, are you sure the Kyuubi is still alive?" she asked.

The man named Pein opened his eyes. They were purple colored, with black concentric rings on them. "Of course Konan. He told me of the seal the Yondaime had used. If Naruto were to die, the seal would break and the Kyuubi would be released."

"And do you trust him?" asked Konan.

"That matters not" Pein replied. "This was his plan from the very beginning. He is the true leader of the Akatsuki."

* * *

Sunagakure, in the land of fire, was completely swept with Sand. The desert was vast and it would be inhuman for anyone to be out in the open during daytime, when the sun would almost burn everything on the ground. But it was these very conditions that we find a small group training. A blond boy was squaring off against a raven haired boy, older to him. Some distance away, another raven haired boy, albeit younger to the other one was facing a black haired girl.

Naruto was happily sparring with his adoptive Nii-san, Itachi Uchiha. He had learnt a lot in the past few years. Most importantly, he had learnt to think strategically. Every evening would be a game of Shogi; neither Sasuke not Haku were really interested in the game, they would be more interested in practicing jutsus among other stuff. Naruto on the other hand had developed an acquired taste for Shogi. He liked the way, he had to improvise to be able to make a move. He had to think what his opponents move might be even before it was made. Itachi always said that it would take a Nara to beat Naruto at the game. And true to his words, even the prodigal Itachi Uchiha had lost more number of times than he could count. He was really happy at his progress. His taijutsu was almost at par with Sasuke, although his Ninjutsu suffered. Itachi had no way of teaching the Yondaime's techniques to Naruto; he himself wasn't aware of the way to do so. And fire was a really weak element for him. Itachi had no expertise in Wind Nature, so his training in Ninjutsu was limited to _**Kage Bunshin**_. And leave it to Naruto and his brains, and he found out effective ways of using Kage Bunshin in combat. Right now, it was a Taijutsu only fight that Itachi and Naruto were having.

Itachi stopped suddenly and held up his hand. Everyone stopped sparring at this and became deadly quiet. "There are 2 people approaching. Both with enormous Chakra reserves. Naruto hide your face." Naruto immediately pulled up the ANBU mask Itachi had given him long ago along with a piece of black cloth he always kept on himself and secured it over his head, so as to hide his hair. Just as he did this, 2 figures jumped into the sand throwing a lot of sand and dust into the air. The 3 kids jumped back to let Itachi handle the situation. The dust settled to reveal two figures, both dressed in a black cloak with red clouds. One of them was a pale blue colored man, although he looked more like a shark than a man. He held a huge bandaged object on his shoulder. The other person was a tall sickly looking person. He resembled more of snake than a man. "Kisame Hoshigaki and Orochimaru. To what do I owe this honor?"

Orochimaru chuckled evilly. "Ku ku ku. Well you see I noticed that there was not one but 2 Sharingan wielders here. I couldn't let that opportunity go could I?" Kisame smirked and said, "Besides, we thought it would be decent warm up to kill you before we go and capture the Ichibi."

Itachi frowned. "What motive does the Akatsuki have to capture the Bijuus. And now that the Kyuubi is dead, what could you gain from the rest." Kisame promptly replied, "Don't know. Don't care". He brought his bandaged 'club' down and stood in a stance. "Let's fight". Kisame leapt towards Itachi with a blinding speed. Itachi immediately switched to using his Mangekyou. He jumped up. Even with his Mangekyou it was difficult to catch up with Kisame. He barely dodged an attack by Orochimaru. Itachi kicked Orochimaru in the chest to send him flying back. Itachi again ducked to see Zabuza's sword, now unwrapped, swinging above his head. Itachi took out his Katana, and parried another attack by Kisame and swirled around to counter Orochimaru. Orochimaru hissed in pain as the Katana wounded his chest. He took an indecisive step back. Seeing the moment of indecision on Orochimaru's part, Itachi drove his Katana straight into Orochimaru's heart. He pulled out the Katana and turned around to block Kisame's attack. He pushed Kisame back. That's when he noticed, a humanoid form leaving the dead Sannin's turned out to be none other than was disgusted at the sight. "So you just don't act like a snake. You are snake." snarled Itachi. Orochimaru paid no heed as he brought his hands together to form seals. "_**1000 snakes technique**_". A thousand snakes erupted out of Orochimaru's mouth as it made its way towards Itachi. Itachi in turn brought his hands together "_**Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire**_" Numerous fireballs flew out of Itachi's mouth to counter the snakes and burnt every last one of them.

The battle between Itachi and the Akatsuki had been going on for quite some time. Sasuke was tempted to go and help his brother. But Naruto and Haku managed to calm him down, telling him that they were in no condition to help Itachi. With the level they were in, they would possibly end up dead or worse, end up getting in Itachi's way. Sasuke bit down on his lip. 'Nii-san, please defeat them. I can't bear to see anything happen to you.' Naruto was also tense. Itachi was the closest he had to any real family. But he was slightly relieved. The battle was draining out both the Akatsuki members. 'At this rate, when the Akatsuki are almost drained, we will jump in to help out Itachi Nii-san. Good thing Itachi Nii-san has us as backup … backup. WAIT! There is no way in hell, 2 seasoned Akatsuki members would come in to battle without any assistance. So where is their backup. I can't even sense him.' His thoughts were broken by a large black spiral appearing behind Itachi from thin air. His eyes widened in shock, as the spiral turned into person. 'A Space-Time Jutsu! Just like Dad's Hiraishin. Shit!' Naruto clenched his fists. "Itachi, watch out behind you". But his warning was just a bit late. The person that stepped out of the vortex was almost as tall as Itachi. He wore an orange mask with a spiral on it and only one eye visible. He held a Katana in his hand which we promptly drove through Itachi's chest. Itachi coughed up blood, before he turned to his assailant. "You …" he muttered. The orange masked assailant pulled out the Katana and walked up to the other Akatsuki members. "Tobi is here because of Leader-sama. Leader was unhappy you dropped off mission to go after emo-boys. Tobi was sent to bring you back. Then leader will give Tobi some dumplings." And before another word could be said, Tobi grabbed a hold of the members before vanishing in another vortex.

Sasuke was frozen to the spot seeing the entire ordeal. Naruto saw this and shook him hard to break him out of his stupor. The moment Sasuke regained his bearings, he looked at Naruto, eyes filled with tears and then to the prone body of Itachi. He ran towards him "NII-SAN!". He reached Itachi and turned him over. Itachi's face was pale, and he was losing a lot of blood from his wound. Sasuke's eyes started paining as he saw Itachi before him. He thought it was only his tears. Itachi looked up to his brother and chuckled, "Hey! Looks like you got your Mangekyou. But be warned, using the Mangekyou for prolonged periods will cause you blindness." Sasuke was in no condition to hear this. Maybe even Naruto wasn't. But Itachi knew, if no one else at least Haku would understand his words. "Listen, to use the Sharingan without losing eyesight, you must replace your eyes with mine. Only then will you achieve the Eternal Mangekyou. Only then will you be able to use the Mangekyou. Not before then. Promise me Sasuke. Not before then." Sasuke simply nodded his head, tears pouring out his eyes. Itachi turned his head slightly towards Naruto. "Naruto, you've been like a little brother to me. Protect yourself from these people, those who came after me. They are the Akatsuki. And as you heard, they are after the Bijuus. Protect yourself Naruto." Naruto kneeled down in front of Itachi, :Nii-san, please don't say that. We'll fix you up. You'll be the one to protect us. Please don't leave us". Itachi smiled and shook his head. "Sorry Naruto. My time is done. You're the most mature and the most level-headed." He slightly chuckled, "Even with your pranks. Take care of them". Itachi finally turned to Haku, "Haku, please take care of them as your otouto." Haku simply nodded, "Hai Itachi-san, I'll protect them with my life." Itachi chuckled, "Just Itachi would be fine. Anyways, always stay true and make your dreams come true. Never give up, nev-" Itachi never finished the sentence. His onyx eyes were now lifeless. Sasuke clutched his body and cried for hours. Naruto sat beside him, head between his palms. Haku sat behind them, comforting them as well as she could. After what seems like hours, both Naruto and Sasuke managed to compose themselves.

Naruto spoke up, "We have to take out his eyes." Sasuke shouted at him "DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY BROTHER". Naruto was visibly irritated at this, "IT WAS OUR BROTHER'S LAST WISH." His voice mellowed down after this. "He wished you to see the world through his eyes. At least that way, he won't truly die. Sasuke held his head down and nodded slightly. Tears falling from them onto his dead brother's corpse. Haku said, "I maybe able to retrieve your brother's eyes, but I don't have the expertise to operate on you. Naruto held Sasuke by the shoulders and picked him up; they walked some distance away to give Haku her privacy to operate on Itachi's eyes. Naruto took a look at Sasuke's eyes. No longer was it the 3 tomoe Sharingan that Sasuke had; instead in its place was the Mangekyou Sharingan like Itachi had. Sasuke finally tired, sat down, remorse and pain evident in his eyes. Naruto looked at him 'After his parents, now this. Sasuke, I'll be there for you always. Believe me I will.' Haku slowly came up to them with a scroll. "I have been able to extract his eyes. I had placed them in a preserving solution and used this scroll to seal it up. Sasuke slowly got up and walked with the rest of the group to where Itachi was lying. He looked at his brother. Haku had closed his eyes and cleaned up his face. Naruto stood closer to Sasuke and said, "We need to bury him. A proper funeral is required." Sasuke nodded. Naruto was getting extremely worried. Sasuke had not spoken anything for hours now. He was still in shock. He turned to face Sasuke and said, "Sasuke, I know I may sound heartless, but there is nothing you can do about it now. We have to move on." Sasuke's eyes burned with anger, "There is something I will be able to do. I will kill those responsible for Nii-san's death. Only then would I be able to do justice to him" Naruto shook his head, "And that is exactly what Nii-san asked us not to do. Remember, when you vowed to kill Danzo yourself, he made us promise never to go the route of vengeance. It would always lead to our downfall. He always used to ask us to use our heads to do battle, and our hearts only to love. If we do it the other way round, we are bound to fail." Itachi's words, softened Sasuke a bit. But Naruto spoke up with a new found determination. "That said, the group is a dangerous one. I vow on my Nii-san's grave that I will fulfill the dream he had for me. To be Hokage. And since a Hokage's job is to protect his precious people, we will put a stop to Akatsuki's machinations. I vow to bring down the Akatsuki and protect everyone from them."

Sasuke and Haku were amazed by Naruto's words. For the first time, they saw a leader in him. They saw Itachi's grit and determination in him. Naruto held his palm out. Sasuke smiled, a warm smile, and laid his hands on top of his. "I vow to follow you and protect everyone from the Akatsuki. And we will destroy them." Haku followed this by saying "And I vow to be there by your side fighting to protect my brothers and to bring peace all around the Elemental Nations. And to do that we will stop the Akatsuki." Naruto smiled, "To counter the Akatsuki, we will need to make ourselves known. And I think it would be better for us to use aliases on the field. Lest anyone recognizes us. Sasuke, you have a very strong lightning ability. And with it you bring your version of chaos to the battlefield." Sasuke smirked. "Your alias should be Raijin" Naruto continued. Sasuke nodded. Naruto turned to face Haku, "You are proficient with Ice. You should be Koorihime" Haku frowned a bit, "Ice Princess. Why the princess?" Naruto raised an eyebrow, "So you'd rather be Ice Prince" Haku groaned, "Fine, I'll be Koorihime". Naruto smiled, "And as for me …" He started thinking, Sasuke piped in, "I know. Since you're always a storm of power and determination, you should be Arashi." "Arashi, I like that" Naruto said. His smile slowly disappeared as he looked at Itachi's corpse. I think we should proceed with the burial. Sasuke sniffed slightly and nodded. For the next hour, they used their Kunai to dig a grave and laid Itachi in it. Naruto pulled out Itachi's Katana from his waist and handed it to Sasuke "Here, he would want you to have this" Sasuke accepted this, tears welling up in his eyes, "Thanks" They buried Itachi. It had to be unmarked, else it could be defiled, knowing that Itachi Uchiha was buried there. After this was done, Naruto brought his hands together in a hand seal, "_**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu**_". A shadow clone popped up beside Naruto. The original turned to the clone and said, "Transform into someone else, and deliver a warning to the Sand regarding the Akatsuki. If they try anything in the near future, at least they won't be unprepared." The clone nodded before it dashed away. Naruto motioned the other to follow him out of the Wind Country to more familiar territories. Naruto knew they would have to start taking missions to sustain themselves and grow in power as well. Up until now Itachi would take on the odd jobs.; now it was their responsibility. In one fell moment, they all grew into adults. Sasuke spoke up, "I think although Naru… I mean Arashi should remain the one who leads us, it would be better for him to do so from the shadows. The Akatsuki are after the Bijuus. That means we need to keep Arashi out of any unnecessary attraction. The best way to do that is to make someone else the figurehead leader." Haku nodded, before saying, "And I think you'd fit the job better." Everyone nodded in agreement. Naruto chuckled and said, "Looks like you finally started thinking with your head. And besides, unless we are in the field, we can still call ourselves by the name we know each other by. The aliases are active only when the group is active." Haku thought for a moment. "Ano. Naruto, but what is the name of our group. I mean even the Akatsuki have a name." Naruto closed his eyes, a slight smile on his lips. "We will bring the downfall of the Akatsuki. We are their polar opposite. We will be the Yoinokuchi" With that the newly formed Yoinokuchi set out towards the Land of Fire.

_End Flashback_

Jiraiya heard the entire story with rapt attention. He was of course saddened to know that Itachi, whom he had so wrongly judged was in fact the one who saved Naruto from the darkness. And the great man was no more. He sighed heavily, "Well, the good news is you're alive. And your group isn't a threat to Konoha. I think you'd all be welcome into the leaf as allies." Naruto smirked, "True, but I don't think I will be. And anyways, I think it would be safer for me to remain hidden till absolutely necessary. That way we still have an advantage over the Akatsuki." Jiraiya nodded solemnly. Naruto grinned and added, "I knew you'd see reason daifu". Jiraiya smirked at this, "Eh Gaki. I'm one of the wisest people in all of the Elemental Nations. I am not a Sannin for nothing" Jiraiya's smirk grew into a warm yet sad smile. "And I truly am sorry for the loss of Itachi. All of you must have viewed him as your elder brother, and I know what it feels like to lose someone close to you. By the way, how long was Itachi planning on training you?" Sasuke shrugged his shoulders, "I guess another year or 2." Jiraiya nodded before continuing, "Itachi left before he could complete your training; I think I would want to honor him by finishing what he started. Get you guys trained". Sasuke didn't like the idea, but before he could voice his concerns, "I think we'll take up the offer. I mean it is an honor to be trained by a Sannin." Naruto then faced the 2 quiet companions of Jiraiya and Kakashi. "But what about them. I'm pretty sure they are part of your group Jiraiya, since they didn't appear on the bridge with Kakashi during the fight." The boy spoke up, "I think we'd like to stick with you guys." Sasuke chuckled, "Well to join us you need to gain our trust" Naruto furrowed his brows, 'Where's Sasuke going with this?' He saw Sasuke activate his Sharingan, "And you aren't gaining any good marks by using a Genjutsu on us" Naruto looked at the duo. 'So, they were hiding behind a Genjutsu, wonder what that was about' The pair looked at Jiraiya who gave a curt nod. Seeing his approval they dispelled the Genjutsu. In front of Naruto were sitting 2 Hyuuga. The male had a very strict look on his face, a leaf headband on his forehead. The female had a more soft look that accentuated the kindness in her eyes. She had a white and fair skin, and hair that reached just just over her shoulders. All in all, Naruto was bowled over looking at her. Sasuke didn't notice this, "Hmm. Two Hyuuga; what do you think Taichou, should we allow them into our ranks." He turned to Naruto, who looked dazed, as though a heavy log hit him on the head. Confused, Sasuke followed Naruto's line of sight to the blushing Hyuuga girl. She had her eyes focussed completely on her shoes. Sasuke sighed, 'Great'. He looked towards the boy who hadn't noticed the looks and then at Jiraiya who had a sly smile on his face. "I guess it would be better to strengthen our group with talents and numbers." Jiraiya nodded happily. "Good, so now all 5 of you are to train under me. And the Yoinokuchi has 2 new members. Make yourself comfortable. I have to take care of something" He motioned to Kakashi, who got up and followed him. After walking out of their hearing range, Jiraiya told Kakashi in a serious tone, "Kakashi, I know that in your mission report you are going to mention them. Just do a favor and leave this meeting out. Mention that you went in search with me, but never found them. Leave all 5 kids out of the report." Kakashi shook his head, "Don't worry, Jiraiya-sama. I finally see my Sensei's legacy happy amongst his friends. My mission is important, but even more important is family. And I would never betray my family for anything; especially when their motives are honest. I think my genin team would be getting worried. I'll take my leave." Jiraiya nodded. Kakashi walked up to the group of kids, "Yo Kids. It was nice meeting you; and I am relieved to see you alive Naruto. I hope to see you soon; but then again, I think I will when you are ready to return to the leaf. Later" saying so Kakashi lept up to a branch and made his way towards Tazuna's home. Jiraiya clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention, "So now who wants some real food?" He let out a loud chuckle. Haku slowly shifted towards Sasuke and leaned in a bit and whispered, "Did you see those two?" Sasuke grinned and nodded. "I sure did" Haku's lips curled into a smile that rivalled Sasuke's. Both of them had the same thing on their minds, 'Now Naruto. It's payback time for all those times you embarrassed us'

* * *

The atmosphere at Tazuna's house was gloomy. Shino stood in a corner. Although as stoic as ever, one could notice that he was considerably depressed. Kiba was crying his heart out. Although Kiba never had a crush or a romantic interest in Sakura, he thought of her as a sister. And to lose her on their first mission outside of the village was hard for him to bear. He was so depressed he didn't even notice Kakashi enter the house and sit down beside him. "Kiba, I know it is hard for you to bear with her death. And I won't lie to you saying that it will get better all by itself. But unless you want it to you'll never be able to get over her death."

"But how can I just forget about a teammate so easily" Kiba spat out. "That's like betraying your friends and comrades."

Kakashi shook his head. "No Kiba, wallowing in her memories is a betrayal. She gave her life trying to save you, so that you and Shino could live as Shinobi. If you continue to cry over her death, you are doing nothing more than insulting her sacrifice. Its going to be hard, but you have to get over it. That is the only way you can honor her." Kiba numbly nodded, tears still pouring out his eyes. He rubbed Kiba on his shoulder trying to assuage him. "We will have to go down and retrieve her body. For a proper burial"

Kiba slowly shook his head. "I'm sorry sensei, but I don't think I'll accompany you. Sakura …" at this tears started welling up in him again, "... she was like … a sister to me. I can't bear to see her like that. I'm sorry Sensei, but please leave me out. " Kiba got up and walked up to a room that Tazuna and his family had cleaned up for the team. Once inside, sounds of sobbing could be heard. Kakashi exhaled deeply as he looked to Shino. The stoic bug-user simply nodded.

Within a few moments they were back at the cave. Kakashi and Shino was surprised to see that the cave that had collapsed was now open. "It seems that someone has cracked open the collapsed wall." Shino noted. Kakashi nodded, before he peeked inside. "But how" Kakashi mused. He turned to Shino, as if asking for his opinion on it. Shino talked in his calm monotonous voice, "Logic dictates that someone else has broken the wall down. Why? Because Sakura never showed any promise in Taijutsu or explosive Ninjutsu. She could not have been able to inflict such damage. The person might have wanted to gain access to her corpse to know more on Konoha's secrets." Kakashi sighed as he saw logic in Shino's words. "In any case, if you look inside, the entire cave had not collapsed as we had presumed. Only the entrance. That means that Sakura could have been alive." said Kakashi. Shino didn't respond; the Aburame's were never known for showing emotions. But Kakashi could faintly make out that Shino was relieved if only for a bit. Shino tensed up again before continuing. "Let's just hope whoever opened the cave was a friend rather than a foe. Kakashi nodded, hoping the best for his student. In any case, they would have to report back to the Hokage, who would take a decision on what need be done. Kakashi closed his open eye, 'Sakura, be safe!'

* * *

Zabuza brought his hands together to release the mist. As the mist dissipated, Zabuza's face constricted. His eyes widened in horror. 'What the hell is going on?' In front on Zabuza lay a decapitated body. The head was on the ground a few feet away. But to his horror, it wasn't Kisame. The man was a ninja from Iwagakure. He could tell from the headband. Something wasn't right. All of a sudden, Zabuza felt immense pain in his back and then his chest. He looked down in horror to see the scaly blades of Samehada protruding from his gut. He turned his head slightly to see Kisame grinning evilly behind him. "What you just killed was a man under a jutsu I created. I was supposed to give him more Chakra, but I ended up providing only 10%. And with him looking like me and with me being able to control him, he became the ultimate decoy. Too bad you just wasted yourself fighting a decoy who had only 10% of my Chakra." He started laughing maniacally after that. Zabuza's eyes widened 'Shit! How powerful is he?' He grimaced as more blood and bile spewed out of his wound. Kisame leaned closer to Zabuza and whispered, "This, my fellow Swordsman, is your grave". With that he yanked Samehada to the side, blowing out what remained of his intestines and stomach on the ground beside him. Zabuza, or what was left of him, fell to the ground on his knees. Life had already left him, but with the last swoop of Samehada, Kisame detached Zabuza's head and held it up in his hands. "Well, that's what you get for trying to behead me you bastard!" he said, bringing the severed head to his eye level. "And you are going to fill my pockets." He brought out a storage seal and sealed the head and Kubikiribocho into it, before putting into his pockets. He started whistling as he walked away from the gory remains of the Demon of the Mist.

* * *

_Ok, I really forgot what the technique's name was that Orochimaru had used. So I just named it "1000 snakes technique", inspired by Kakashi's 1000 years of pain. And yes, I killed off Zabuza. And no, I am not reanimating him until someone uses Edo Tensei. So Zabuza fans, I'm really sorry. Still he did put up a decent fight. And yes, this time I made Naruto a little less of an airhead and made him notice Hinata. Also since Hinata is the only girl he has seen (when he saw Haku for the first time, he was quite small; he just made her his Nee-chan), he felt a little flushed. Don't worry, I'm not going to turn Naruto into a Hinata, nor will Hinata revert back. Lets just say that they'll have some minor difficulties in achieving their time together._

_On with a couple of terms_

**Kirigakure no Jutsu** - Hiding in the mist technique

_Also I'll take this opportunity to name all of the hidden villages and their nations_

**Konohagakure no** **Sato** - Village hidden by leaves (Hidden Leaf Village)

Located in **Hi no Kuni** - Land of Fire

**Kirigakure no Sato** - Village hidden by mist (Hidden Mist Village)

Located in **Mizu no Kuni** - Land of Water

**Kumogakure no Sato** - Village hidden by clouds (Hidden Cloud Village)

Located in **Kaminari no Kuni** - Land of Lightning

**Iwagakure no Sato** - Village hidden by rocks/stones (Hidden Rock/Stone Village)

Located in **Tsuhi no Kuni** - Land of Earth

**Amegakure no Sato** - Village hidden by rain (Hidden Rain Village)

Located in unnamed country

**Otogakure no Sato** - Village hidden by sound (Hidden Sound Village)

Located in **Oto no Kuni** - Land of Sound

**Uzushiogakure no Sato** - Village hidden by whirlpool (Hidden Whirlpool Village) - Now extinct

Located in **Uzu no Kuni** - Land of Whirlpool

**Sunagakure no Sato** - Village hidden by sand (Hidden Sand Village)

Located in **Kaze no Kuni** - Land of Wind

**Takigakure no Sato** - Village hidden by waterfall (Hidden Waterfall Village)

Located in unnamed country

**Yukigakure no Sato** - Village hidden by Snow (Hidden Snow Village)

Located in **Yuki no Kuni** - Land of Snow

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_Please Read and Review. :)_


	6. Tsuki and Taiyou

_A/N: _

_Me: "Hey, I am really sorry for the delay. Holiday season and finishing up stuff at my workplace really bogged me down. Anyways, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year." ((whispering))'I really hope that brought their anger down'_

_Sasuke: "No. It didn't"_

_Me: "Heyyy. Sasuke." ((sweating)) "Didn't see you there"_

_Sasuke: "You'll pay for the delay. __**Amaterasu**__"_

_Me: ((screaming as I burn to ash))_

_Naruto: "TEME! Now who'll write story"_

_Sasuke: "Hnn"_

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**Reviewer's Corner**

_Ayrmed: That's some really intensive writing. Nice work._** Thanks. I intend to keep writing as long as I keep getting the awesome reviews from all you wonderful people.**

_Shinobi Of Life: Is sasuke father and mother still alive i wonder how the others are doing. Keep up the story!_** Well, unfortunately no. Fugaku and Mikoto are both dead. As for the rest of them - well you'll have to wait for more chapters. :)**

* * *

"Normal speech"

"SHOUTING/YELLING"

'Thinking'

_Flashback begin and end_

"_**Jutsu**_"

* * *

The new members of the Yoinokuchi were now busy setting up their own tents. Haku was off in the woods, searching for food. Jiraiya was grumbling loudly as he setup his tent, while Sasuke was "helping" him by standing clear, leaning against a tree, his arms crossed on his chest and his eyes closed. "I'll only get in the way. So the best help that I can provide you is to not get involved." Jiraiya kept muttering under his breath as he glared towards Sasuke. He turned towards Naruto, who seemed to be more than happy to help Hinata. Unknown to the other, they kept stealing glances at one another and slightly blushed. Jiraiya smirked as he saw the two, oblivious of their feelings to each other. 'This would make a killer scene' he thought as his grin grew wider. He turned his glance towards the other Hyuuga pupil. Neji had all but abandoned setting up his tent as he sent angry glares towards the mess, his Byakugan active, as if intimidating the tent to set itself up. Haku emerged into the clearing with a pair of dead rabbits in her hands. She raised an eyebrow and smirked looking at the scene between Naruto and Hinata. She loudly coughed to gain the attention of the others.

"Ok looks like everyone is settled in …" she paused before she looked at Neji's tent. She shook her head slightly and muttered "Imbecile" under her breath. She looked up and continued, "Anyways, I believe since we have 2 new members in the group, introductions are in order."

"3 … not 2" Sasuke spoke up, his index finger lazily pointing towards Jiraiya. Haku rolled her eyes, "Fine, 3 members. So lets all gather round and get over with the introductions." At this everyone dropped their work and approached the makeshift fireplace they had built with stones, although the fire had long since extinguished. Hinata sat down beside Neji. Naruto was making his way to sit beside her, when Sasuke caught his arm and dragged him and sat him down opposite of Hinata. Naruto glared daggers at Sasuke, who simply looked bored and was looking ignoring Naruto. Once everyone had settled down, Naruto started to speak up , since he was the leader of the Yoinokuchi and he thought it was expected of him to lead in everything. However, even before he could start, he was cut off by an overzealous Jiraiya.

Jiraiya stood in his famous Kabuki pose and started his weird dance, "I am the Toad-Sage of Mount Myoboku, the self-p -". Neji cut him off half yelling at his sensei, "Just get to it you damn pervert". He turned around, his gaze on the floor slowly muttering "Kami! Why did I have to get such a pervert as a teacher" Hinata giggled at this, while Sasuke snickered. Jiraiya glared at Neji leaking a bit of his Killing Intent. He turned his head slightly, eyes still fixed on the Hyuuga before closing them and lifting the KI. He sighed, opened his eyes and continued, "Anyways, my likes are ..." as he trailed off his lips curled into a lecherous smile with his tongue hanging out of his partially open mouth giving him the look of a perverted dog. Neji interrupted his train of thoughts by coughing loudly. Jiraiya blinked his unfocused eyes before he looked towards Neji, "Gaki! You've cut me off twice already. Next time, I'll kill you. Anyways, my dislikes include getting beaten by angry Kunoichi for conducting my 'research' and a traitorous ex-teammate of mine." His visage became grim at this point. Most of the members knew who he was talking about. Sasuke's eyes burned with unbridled rage and anger on hearing about Orochimaru - one of those responsible for Itachi's death. After the momentary pause, Jiraiya's mood lightened "My goal is just one - find a true everlasting world peace. Although I have yet to find it, I am confident that I will be able to do so." Jiraiya ended it with a sage-like smirk. Naruto spoke up, "Ok, now something about your skills and we can discuss your Field Name." Hinata took the moment to speak up,"Field Name? What exactly is that?" she asked, resisting every urge not to stammer. Naruto said, "Well Field Name is something that we use when we are out in the open or dealing with clients and such. Amongst ourselves, we can call each other by the name we know each other the most. But on-field, we can't risk exposing our identities." Hinata nodded as she understood the words, "Just like yours is Arashi". Naruto gave her a small smile and nod to indicate that she was right. Jiraiya continued his introduction, "Well, I am exceptionally proficient in Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. I am Fuuinjutsu master, just like Minato was. Also I can manipulate Nature energy using Sage mode. As for field name, you call me Rippa-Sensei" Naruto deadpanned, "You really want to be called 'Handsome'? No, I think Ero-Sensei would suit you better" He chuckled, "After you right all those smut, it suits you well" Jiraiya was appalled at the nickname. "No, come on! That's downright cruel. You've got to have something better. Please, I beg of you." Looking at one of the strongest men in all of the 5 elemental nations weeping and begging in front of them, the entire group burst out into raucous laughter. Naruto said, "Ha ha … Ok, I've got something better. How about Gama-Sensei." Jiraiya was relieved at this, as he breathed a deep and heavy sigh. Naruto smirked and continued, "But in private you're Ero-Sensei" Jiraiya started weeping anime tears while everyone laughed at his expense.

Neji went next. "My name is Neji Hyuuga. I am from the branch fa… I mean I am an exile from the Hyuuga clan" 'Its been 2 years now Neji' he reprimanded himself, 'Branch and Main don't apply to you. You WERE a part of the Hyuuga family. Now your only family is Hinata … and maybe these bunch of misfits.' "I like training and my sister Hinata here" he said as he pointed towards Hinata. "I dislike my old clan … well not the clan per se, a tradition that is followed in the clan. My goal is to help my sister achieve her goals. Our goals are pretty much the same. As for skills I am well proficient in the Gentle Fist style of Taijutsu. As for field name, well … I don't have anything on my mind yet." Everyone nodded at this and looked towards Hinata. Looks like the new members would have the first go.

At one point of her life, Hinata would have cowered down and shrunk away from so many people looking at her. It would have been worse if they were the angry glares that she was so used to getting from her clan. The Hinata sitting in front of the Yoinokuchi members was different; she didn't shrink down, but rather confidently spoke up "My name is Hinata Hyuuga. Like my Nii-san, I am an exile from the Hyuuga family of Konoha." Jiraiya was pleased with the way Hinata was speaking, 'Well, it took 2 years but she is finally able to speak without stuttering. Her confidence definitely has improved'. He mentally patted his own back. "My likes are reading, pressing flowers, …" she quickly stole a glance towards Naruto. This didn't go unnoticed by Sasuke. He turned his head slightly to look at Naruto. He had a glazed look in his eyes, and a stupid comical grin on his face, his complete attention on Hinata. 'I wonder if he is even listening to what she is talking about.' he pondered. Hinata on the other hand continued, "I dislike the rift in my family and the tradition that Nii-san spoke about. I am not as skilled in using the Byakugan for Taijutsu as Neji is, but I have been able to use it for **Fuuinjutsu**, which I am skilled at.-" Jiraiya's guffaw cut her off, "Skilled is an understatement. You're a prodigy. A few more years and you can be an even greater sealing master than me or Minato." Hinata blushed at his compliment, but to her credit neither did she faint, not stutter as she continued, "Ano, I still have a lot to learn; a long way to go. As for my goals, it is to unite the two branches in the Hyuuga clan." She quickly stole another glance at Naruto. Sasuke noticed this again as he smirked and turned towards the Blonde. He seemed oblivious to everything happening in the discussion. His unfocused eyes solely on Hinata. Sasuke thought, 'Hmm, the fires of youth are burning on both sides it seems. WAIT! WHERE DID THAT YOUTH CRAP COME FROM?!'

* * *

In Konoha, a green-spandex wearing Jounin and his 'clone' sneezed at the same time.

"Gai-Sensei! I have a feeling that the Flames of Youth are burning even brighter today" the small version of the Jounin spoke up.

"YOSH! LEE I WILL MAKE OUR FLAMES OF YOUTH BURN BRIGHTER OR ELSE I'LL RUN 500 LAPS AROUND THE VILLAGE ON MY HANDS. IF I CAN'T DO THAT, I'LL CLIMB THE HOKAGE MOUNTAIN USING ONLY MY TEETH WEARING 5OO POUNDS OF WEIGHT ON MY ARMS."

"Gai-Sensei"

"Lee"

"Gai-Sensei"

"Lee"

As they embraced, the unbreakable Genjutsu of a sunset with waves crashing on the shores appeared. Many of the unsuspecting civilians were so horrified at the scene, they lost their sanity.

Needless to say, the Konoha mental asylum and the Konoha Hospital's psych ward made a lot of money that month.

* * *

Sasuke shook his head to remove any more thoughts of 'YOUTH' from his head. He nudged Naruto to get him out of his stupor. The latter on receiving the elbow jab to his ribs, glared menacingly at Sasuke as he rubbed his injured ribs. Sasuke spoke up, "Ok, so what would you like your Field Name to be?"

Hinata tilted her head upwards, bringing her index finger on her chin; contemplating what her name should be. But before she could answer, Neji spoke up "Tsuki". Naruto frowned at Neji and asked him, "So you want to be named Tsuki?" Neji's face turned red with embarrassment, "NO YOU BAKA! THE NAME WAS MEANT FOR HINATA"

"Ohh! Gomen!" smiled Naruto sheepishly.

"Anyways, Hinata is always gentle, kind and for me, my sister was the beacon of light in the darkness. Just like the moon. Hence the name Tsuki" said Neji.

Naruto, back to his stupor, muttered out "And just as beautiful". Unfortunately, he meant to say this only to himself, but his volume control was awful. And almost everyone heard that. Hearing that Hinata blushed furiously 'Naruto thinks I am beautiful, like the moon.' "N-Nani? What d-did you s-say N-Naruto?" she stuttered out. Jiraiya groaned, '2 years worth of effort gone down the drain. Great going Gaki! Anyways, this would prove to be a most inspirational scene for my books' Sasuke and Haku snickered at this, while Neji glared daggers at the young blushing blond. "N-Nothing, Hinata-cha … I mean Hinata. I-It was nothing." He almost slipped out the "-chan" suffix. 'Shit, what the hell is happening to me. Why am I behaving like this in front of her. I have met many a girls during missions; hell even Haku is a girl. Although, now that I think of it, none were as beautiful as Hinata. Her smooth skin, her cute pink lips, that little button nose, her wide innocent lavender eyes that hold nothing but love and kindness, her cascading indigo hair, her red blushing cheeks, her shapely chest … I AM TURNING INTO A PERVERT', Naruto's last thought turned him into a Red Tomato. Any further, and the blood in his cheeks would actually burst out of his face.

Haku decided to salvage the situation and save his Otouto from Neji, who looked like he'd chew Naruto into fine paste for his candid statement. She cleared her throat and everyone looked at her. "My Name is Haku, and I am from the Hidden Mist village. My likes include my friends, or rather my brothers" she said glancing pointedly at Naruto and Sasuke, "and training in Hyoton. I dislike all those who hurt my friends and their dreams. My goal is to always protect my precious people and help achieve the goal of the Yoinokuchi." Jiraiya asked, "And that is?". This time it was Naruto who replied, "Stopping the Akatsuki from harming people" His mood lightened as he continued, "By the way Haku, I thought you had once told your dream of finally meeting the man of your dreams and having little tykes with him". Haku blushed a crimson red and glared darkly at Naruto, while the target was rolling on the ground laughing. "Anyways," she continued, "I use Senbons as a weapon. I have skills in **Hyoton**, as well as medicinal herbs and plants, though I don't have much skills in close range combat, specially Taijutsu. On field I generally use a mid-range approach to attack my enemies with my Senbons and keep them at the distance using my **Hyoton** abilities. Also my field name is Koorihime"

Sasuke took this as his cue to continue, but was interrupted by Naruto, "Hey Neji, what about Taiyou as your field name. Brother to the Moon, the Sun." Hinata piped in, "Well, for me Neji Nii-san gives me the strength and warmth to continue and move forward. Just like the Sun provides the light for the moon to shine through the darkness, Neji Nii-San fills me with the courage to face all the adversities of life." Neji smiled gently at Hinata, "Hai! Taiyou is a fine name" Naruto cheered loudly, "YEAH! Now, we have the celestial brother and sister on our team." Sasuke rolled his eyes, "Calm down Naruto! Anyways, my name is Sasuke Uchiha. I am an exile from the Uchiha clan in Konoha. I like Tomatoes, my fellow Yoinokuchi members and training in my Sharingan and Katon Jutsu. I dislike my enemies, people who mar Itachi's name, Shogi, Naruto's pranks and Ramen" Naruto scoffed at this, muttering under his breath, "He likes the Tomato Ramen that I make him. Hypocrite". Sasuke continued, "My goal is to destroy the Akatsuki and kill Itachi's killers. My strengths and weakness … well I don't feel like sharing it with you." This earned Sasuke a slap on the back of his head, courtesy of Naruto. "Get that stick out your ass, teme. They are all part of the group." Sasuke grumbled incoherently. "Fine. My strengths lie in my Sharingan. I know a couple of A ranked Katon jutsus, and a dozen of B ranked ones. My Taijutsu, while not at Naruto's level, is pretty decent. It complements the Sharingan. I know a bit of how to handle a sword, although not enough to call it knowing Kenjutsu. I also am the resident Genjutsu specialist; although honestly I am the only one who can cast genjutsu and because the others are horrendous in that area." Looking at Naruto's angry face, he replied, "What? It's the truth. Haku can atleast break a Genjutsu. You can't even do that. Anyways, my weakness lie in my elemental affinity training. I know a lot of Katon jutsus but no Raiton, although that is my primary elemental affinity. I also lack in long term strategic planning, although my battlefield tactics are on par with Naruto. I fight on the frontlines with Naruto, both of us being front line heavy hitters. I rarely use Genjutsus since they are all pretty low rank Genjutsus that can be broken my most Chuunin level Ninjas. I also act as the Second-In-Command for the group and as the pseudo-leader when meeting with clients. This serves us in a 2 fold fashion. First, since most of the clients are civilians, I can 'persuade' them better, thanks to my Sharingan; although this is frowned upon by both my group members." Haku and Naruto scoffed at him. "Also, since Akatsuki has one hell of a spy network, keeping Naruto in the background is best for him." No one, not even Naruto, could argue with his reasoning.

Finally it was Naruto's turn. He took a deep breath. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. I am the son of Minato Namikaze, the late Yondaime Hokage of Konoha and Kushina Uzumaki. My father had no clan as far as I know, and my mother's clan, which once ruled over Uzushiogakure is now dead. My likes include my friends and comrades, Gardening, Shogi, Training, Ramen and the occasional pranks." Sasuke muttered something under his breath that sounded like " … occasional my ass … " Naruto glared at Sasuke, "Moving on, my dislikes include people who bully other, are judgemental, arrogant people, the 3 minutes to cook the ramen" Everyone sweat-dropped at this, "and the Akatsuki. Well, as much as I hate to admit it, I have absolutely no skill in Genjutsu. Even after Itachi Nii-san had taught us how to dispel one, I have trouble trying to break anything over a D-rank Genjutsu. My Ninjutsu is also not that strong. I know a couple of Katon jutsu, but they are a massive drain on my Chakra. I know how to manipulate my wind element, thanks to Haku, but I don't know any Fuuton jutsu. I generally try creating my own, although I haven't successfully been able to create any. Most of them are cause too much widespread devastation while hurting me. The only thing that I have been able to do is channel Fuuton chakra into Kunai and other weapons. Oh, I also know the Kage Bunshin. My Taijutsu is my strongest point. I use a technique that I created with Itachi Nii-san to complement well with the Shadow Clones. Like Sasuke, handling a sword is all I know, not much on how to wield it properly. My goal is to protect everyone I care about and make everyone acknowledge my existence. My more immediate goal is to stop the machinations of Akatsuki and prevent them from harming any more innocents. On field I fight at the forefronts with Sasuke, being the heavy hitter of the group. Also all the strategic decisions of the group are taken by me. My field name is Arashi."

Naruto paused for a moment before looking at everyone, gauging their reactions, more specifically Hinata's. For some reason, he didn't want his 'secret' to cause her to hate or fear him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, "There's something else that all of you should know, specially Neji and Hinata. Jiraiya, I think, already knows about this." He opened his eyes and looked at Hinata. "You had asked me why the villagers hated me. I had given an oblique response at the time, since I didn't know or trust you. Since you and Neji have become members of the group, trust is implicit. As for not knowing you, I'd say we are well on our way to getting to know each other." He smiled at the Hyuuga siblings. "Well, what do you know about the Kyuubi?"

Hinata spoke up, "Ano, the Yondaime Hokage, your father, killed the Kyuubi and in the process gave his life up. As you mentioned, since your birthday is on the same day, they disrespect you." Naruto gave a weak smile, "That's not the complete reason. See, the Bijuu couldn't be killed. So my father had to seal it in order to defeat the Kyuubi. And it could only be done so in a newborn baby. Me" Hinata and Neji's eyes widened at this. Naruto closed his eyes, hoping that they wouldn't see him in any other way. He heard a slight sob and opened his eyes. Hinata was looking at him tears in her eyes. "Naruto-kun, I'm so sorry. The villagers hated you for something that was out of your control. I'm so sorry" Naruto was relieved to hear that Hinata didn't hate him, but was dumbfounded at her reaction. "Ano, its ok Hinata. It was not your fault" he said. Unfortunately, he had missed that Hinata added the "-kun" suffix to his name. This wasn't unnoticed by the rest of group, who were either snickering or glaring (for Neji). Neji spoke up, "Well, if the villagers saw you as the Kyuubi, they must be idiots." Naruto smiled warmly at Neji.

Jiraiya was proud of the fact that his students had overlooked the fact that Naruto was the jailer of the Kyuubi and saw him for him. He clapped his hands to gain everyone's attention. "OK. Since I am going to be your Sensei, I'll have training routines set for all of you. But first, I'd like to test the leader on whether he is really capable of holding that position." he said with a smirk. Haku nervously looked between Jiraiya and Naruto, who was looking at Jiraiya with a smug grin. "I don't think anyone has the capability to fight you Jiraiya-sama … I mean Jiraiya-sensei." Jiraiya waved his hands off-handedly, "No no, not a fight. Leadership capabilities. First tell me Naruto, how would you incorporate Hinata and Neji into your field?"

Naruto contemplated for a bit before answering, "Well, both of them use Jyuuken, which is a very effective technique for disabling enemies. For scouting missions, their Byakugan would be an impressive asset. For capture missions, they would be able to easily incapacitate targets with their Jyuuken strikes. Also, I think the Jyuuken principles can also be used for assassination missions. A quick Jyuuken strike to the brain or the heart would get the job done. No unnecessary sounds or mess. On frontal assaults, they would be able to perform quick strikes to opponents, while me and Sasuke deal the heavy blows. Do any one of you know Medical Ninjutsu?" he asked the Hyuuga siblings. They shook their head, "Damn! They would have been great medic nins as well, being able to see and perform operations on a cellular level. Anyways, the **Hakke Rokujuyon Sho** would also prove to be one of their best close range offensive attack. And with the **Hakkesho Kaiten**, they have the best defense for mid to long range attacks." Jiraiya and the Hyuugas looked at Naruto gaping as he literally tore down their skills and fit into mission specifics. Their faces made a close resemblance to a fish's mouth. Jiraiya was the first to recover. "Well, Hinata doesn't really know the **Hakke Rokujuyon Sho**. She has developed a more defensive version of it that blocks any incoming attacks; just as effective as Kaiten, but with a lot let power and lot more precision, thus requiring a lot less Chakra - the **Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho**." Naruto looked at Hinata impressed by this, whistling. She started blushing looking down towards the ground. "Wow Hinata! You developed a new Jutsu all by yourself. You're amazing." he said excitedly. 'Naruto thinks I'm amazing.' she thought to herself, blushing all the while. Naruto continued, "Well, keeping that in mind, Hinata would still serve the same purpose on scout and capture missions, but on the frontal assault, she would be able to perform better providing backup and assistance to mid-range and long-range fighters, although we have yet to find a long-range one." He stopped as he thought of something, "Hey Ero-Sensei," Jiraiya grumbled at his name, "do you have any experience in bows and arrows?" Jiraiya looked at him with a confused look, "Why? You wanna learn? It won't help you being on the frontlines." Naruto shook his head, "No, it was for Hinata. What I know about the Byakugan is that they allow a complete 360 degrees peripheral vision, but it can also be switched to a very long range tunnel vision. Almost like a scope. I think Hinata should be able to hit targets at a distance with deadly accuracy. She could be our long-range sniper. Along side that, she should be able to protect any clients if we have any. If I am not wrong, **Hakkesho Kaiten** is a spherical Chakra defense which would cause harm to any one if they are close, while the precision of the **Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho** prevents that from happening. In short, Kaiten is useful for protecting oneself, while **Shugohakken Rokujuyon Sho** is useful for protecting others as well. On top of that, Hinata has excellent skills, and to quote you Ero-Sensei 'prodigy in Fuuinjutsu'. So I think she can be our resident seal master. From explosive tags to even more complex seals, with her Byakugan, she should be able to break apart, study and create seal with utmost precision. What do you think?" By this time, Jiraiya had already fainted, and the Hyuuga siblings had gone into shock. Naruto frowned at their condition. Sasuke got up and shook Neji on the shoulder. This broke him out of his shock. "H-How? You were able to break down the strong and weak points of the **Kaiten** and **Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho**. How were you able to get such intricate details on Hyuuga clan secrets?" Naruto chuckled as Hinata broke out of her shock, "Itachi had a couple of notes on the Hyuuga techniques from his ANBU days. He was looking into contingency plans in case the Hyuuga clan …" he trailed off. Sasuke sighed and finished, "tried a coup d'etat like the Uchiha clan." Jiraiya had woken up by now, "Damn Gaki! Even I hadn't contemplated using her Byakugan for long-range purposes." He continued with a chuckle, "But you did an admirable job on the dissection of their skills. You truly are Minato's son. I accede that you are a really good leader. But to make my job as a sensei a bit easier, I'd like to hear what you think you of your battle with Zabuza and Kisame."

Haku kept silent contemplating what to say. Sasuke, confident in his abilities, said, "Well, if they hadn't run off, we'd have easily beaten the two fish faced freaks" Before he could continue Naruto butt in.

"I disagree. Both of them had us pretty much outmatched. Zabuza is a master of the silent killing. On top of that I was lucky to have been able to blow away the mist he had spread. It would have made the fight all the more difficult. Even Kisame wasn't fighting to his fullest. Another thing to notice was that only Kisame was wearing the Akatsuki robes, Zabuza wasn't. I think that Akatsuki had taken the mission from Gato, Zabuza was more of a backup, a distraction. It only serves to prove that Zabuza was nowhere on the same power level as Kisame. The arrival of the Yoinokuchi was something they still could handle. However with Jiraiya, a Sannin, intervening in the fight, they felt prudent to escape."

Jiraiya nodded. "A very astute analysis. Itachi has done a great job training you thus far. It would be my honor to take up the mantle of a Sensei and complete your training.

* * *

_Timeskip (2 weeks)_

Hiruzen Sarutobi had been the Hokage for ages. But still, the loss of fellow Ninjas was an unbearable news for the old Sandaime Hokage. He sighed deeply remembering the pink haired Genin, who was now probably dead. Kakashi stood in front of the aging Hokage as he gave his report. He had convincingly reported that he had aided Jiraiya in tailing the Yoinokuchi but wasn't successful in intercepting them or getting any more information. Hiruzen looked up to Kakashi.

"I guess we'll have to declare Genin Sakura Haruno as KIA then"

Kiba exploded, "NANI? We haven't found any evidence that she is dead. She may yet be alive. Kakashi confirmed it himself"

Shino calmed him down, "KIba. This is the most logical course of action. If she was alive, she would have come back already. On top of that, the cave was torn down by someone. Why? Because, Sakura doesn't have the strength to do so, nor did she have any explosive tags to perform the task. If the one who broke it down was a friend, then they would bring her back, dead or alive to the village. Since that has not happened, we can only assume that the one who broke the wall down was a foe. If she was dead, the KIA status is valid. If she was alive, they would have killed her after interrogating her. In all situations, the chances of her getting out it alive are slim to none."

Kiba looked at Shino, crestfallen, "Is there no scenario in which she would survive?"

Kakashi looked at Kiba darkly before stating, "Yes, if she joined up with the enemies and betrayed the leaf."

Kiba looked at his sensei appalled by the allegation. "Sakura would never do that. She is a loyal Shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato."

Shino stoically asked him, "I believe that as well. But then answer me this question logically. Why hasn't she returned?"

Kiba looked down, utterly defeated, "Because she is … she is dead"

They all grimly nodded, reminded about how fragile a Shinobi's life is.

* * *

"Harder Rippuku" shouted Tsunade as she blocked a punch from her new protege. Rippuku quickly followed up by a swift kick that Tsunade who dodged it and followed up by punching Rippuku in the gut. The latter noticed the punch, and immediately gathered Chakra in her abdominal region to reduce the effect of the blow. However, Tsunade's 'demonic' strength was nothing to be trifled with. The blow knocked the wind out of Rippuku, who now reeled back. But to her credit, she held her footing as she took a fighting stance against her mentor."

Shizune held up her hand, "Alright both of you. That's enough for now."

Tsunade and Rippuku both let out a deep sigh. Soon after Rippuku fell over backward from exhaustion. Tsunade sat down on the ground looking fondly at Rippuku. 'She's come a long way that one. She's picking up Medic Ninjutsu at an astonishing rate. Her impeccable Chakra control is just perfect for this. On top of that, she is a fast learner in using Chakra scalpels and Chakra enhanced punches. I'll be damned, she's going to surpass even me." Tsunade got up and dusted herself as she walked over to Shizune who was now healing Rippuku.

"Shizune, once you're done, get her into the hotel room. She'll have to rest and recover as fast as possible. After that we'll move towards the village. Its gonna take another week to reach it."

"Hai Tsunade-sama!" she replied. She hesitantly continued, "Ano … Tsunade-sama, do you think it is wise for us to venture into a village that is currently suffering from a viral outbreak?"

Tsunade smiled, "Trust me Shizune, I know what I am doing. I've trained both you and Rippuku to prevent a viral infection to yourself. On top of that, it will be a good training session for you to handle crisis situations and containment situations. Besides, the Fire Daimyo is paying a bunch for treating and containing the outbreak and preventing it to become a full blown plague." She added the last part laughing, but settled down seeing Shizune's serious frown. "From what I know, the outbreak has already spread to a couple more villages. The Fire Daimyo has been able to quarantine them to prevent the spread of the contagion to the best of his abilities; he asked me to cure and eradicate this viral outbreak. Don't worry, we'll do just fine"

Shizune worries lessened a bit, "How long do you think it'll take for us to completely control the outbreak." she asked.

Tsunade shrugged, "I don't know a month or two, I think"

* * *

Deep in an uncharted territory on the border of Hi no Kuni, an abandoned barracks is now filled with the sound of weapons clashing and jutsus exploding. The barracks is now the temporary residence of the Yoinokuchi. Haku was near a small pool, training in her Hyoton abilities, trying to raise a wall of ice using the water from the pool. Sasuke and Neji were facing off against each other. While Sasuke was using a variety of Katon jutsus, Neji uses Kaiten to defend himself. Neji tried closing the distance for his Hakke Rokujuyon Sho, while Sasuke used his speed to escape out of range. Some distance away, Hinata and Naruto were sitting side by side, just having finished their spar, and were now reading a book of Fuuinjutsu; Hinata had taken it upon herself to teach Naruto the art of sealing. She believed that Naruto held great potential as well, knowing who his father was. It was at this moment, that Jiraiya arrived.

"Hey there. I got those Haori and other stuffs for the new Gakis" he said holding up a packet. Naruto had sent over Jiraiya to their secret acquaintance who had gotten them the customized Haori, masks and Hitai-ate made. After much discussion and deliberation, Jiraiya had decided that he wouldn't get onto the field as a member of the Yoinokuchi. He would help train them and guide them, but from the background. He would never officially be a member of the group. All the members heard his voice and came to him.

Jiraiya handed over the packet to Neji who tore it open to get his and Hinata's attire from it. He then brought out a couple of scrolls. "Ok. Here are a couple of Raiton jutsus for Sasuke. Most of them are B-ranked jutsus. Pinpoint accuracy. Although non-lethal." He handed them over to an over-eager Sasuke. "Naruto. Here are a couple of Fuuton jutsu scrolls. Most of them are B-ranked offensive jutsus. Widespread damage. Be very careful Gaki" he said smirking as he handed Naruto the scrolls. He turned to Haku, "Haku, I'm sorry but for your Hyoton scrolls, I'll have to travel to Kiri to get a hold of them from the destroyed Yuki clan compound." Haku saddened a little, but brightened as Jiraiya continued "But since your Hyoton is a bloodline of Water and Wind, you could get a hold of Naruto's scrolls for Fuuton jutsu. Hinata already has a couple of Suiton jutsu scrolls that you could use."

"Did you get anything on the Mangekyou?" Sasuke asked. Itachi had been really reluctant on giving him information on the Mangekyou, given the circumstances that lead to its emergence.

"No. Frankly, I doubt that the Uchiha would actually let such a sensitive piece of information out. If one knew the powers and workings of the Mangekyou outside of the Uchiha, it would be devastating for them. Anyways, as of now, its best to heed your brother's warnings and not use it."

Sasuke grimly nodded. As everyone moved back to their spars and trainings, Jiraiya called out to Naruto, "Hey Gaki, come over. I've got a couple of things to give to you." Naruto came over. Jiraiya handed him a scroll. "This scroll contains one of the most devastating techniques of your father." Naruto looked up at him star-eyed. "Ero-Sensei! Can you teach me?" Jiraiya laughed out loudly, "Ha ha! Sorry Gaki. Even I don't know how to work that jutsu out. It is a very advanced transportation technique based on Fuuinjutsu. Even I couldn't figure head or tail of what your old man used. This scroll contains the basics to the very intricate details of the seal and how it works. Unfortunately, it is missing some theory. And since the seals are unique to an individual, without the theory base, I can't construct the seal." Naruto was seriously crestfallen on hearing this. "So how do I do this?" he asked Jiraiya, hopeful he'll be able to help him out. Jiraiya gave him a small smile, "You have formulate your own theory, and decipher the seal to understand what your old man had done. If your theory is correct, you should be able to get your own seal down."

Naruto nodded, soaking in his words, before he asked "So, what's the jutsu called?"

Jiraiya smiled "**Hiraishin**. Anyways, I do have a technique that I can teach you. The jutsu was another of the signature moves of your father." As he said, he held out his hand and a ball of swirling Chakra formed in his hand. Naruto looked at it awestruck. "What is this one called?"

Jiraiya grinned, "**Rasengan**"

* * *

_A/N: Haha, I fooled that pathetic Uchiha. I was never caught in that Amaterasu. Anyways, I'll try getting the other chapters out as soon as possible. Working on another story does take a lot of effort you know._

**Rippa** - Handsome

**Tsuki** - The Moon

**Taiyou** - The Sun

**Otouto** - Little brother

**Nii-san** - Elder brother

**Fuuinjutsu** - Sealing techniques

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu** - Shadow Clone Technique

**Hakke Rokujuyon Sho** - Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms

**Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho** - Protection of the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms

**Hakkesho Kaiten** - Eight Trigrams Palm Revolving Heaven

**Hiraishin** - Flying Thunder God technique

**Rasengan** - Spiraling Sphere

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Read and review people. And please do review. Positive, negative, doesn't matter. Just review. And please favorite and/or follow the story if you like it. :)

Cheerio, and again, Merry Christmas.


	7. Mission to Uzu & the Green Eyed Monster

_A/N: Happy new year guys. Things will starts picking up from this chapter. Hope you guys like it_

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**Reviewer's corner**

_Ayrmed: Great chapter though I find myself with this disturbing picture of Sasuke and "youth"._ **He he. ((Mischievous smirk)). At least I didn't put in the sunset genjutsu with Sasuke.**

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**I must commend '****_Ayrmed_****' and '****_Shinobi Of Life_****' for being such awesome readers. Both of them have been giving constant reviews on almost all my chapters. And have been one of my strongest pillars of confidence.**

**Thank you guys. You're the best.**

* * *

_Timeskip (2 months)_

"_**Futon: Great Breakthrough**_"

"_**Katon: Great Fireball Technique**_"

Both the jutsu hit each other, causing a massive explosion. "Hey, what's the great idea, you teme" yelled Naruto, trying to extricate himself from the rubble. Sasuke was in no better position. "I wasn't thinking, alright" Sasuke yelled back. "I just forgot that those 2 elements have the habit of exploding." In fact, Sasuke knew that the jutsu collision would cause an explosion, however he had hoped that Fire being the stronger of the 2 elements, the explosion would have become a shaped charge explosion towards Naruto. Not that he had anything against the blond, but the leader of their group did have the habit of recovering from such stuff pretty fast. What he didn't factor into his attack was the fact that Naruto had enormous Chakra reserves; which means even though the wind attack should have been defeated by the fire attack, it would be so for jutsus on the same level of Chakra. With the insane amount of Chakra Naruto had put into the attack, the explosion was inescapable.

"YOU STUPID BAKA! I SHOULD KILL YOU TO FOR TRYING THAT." they heard Neji yelling at them. Naruto gingerly stood up. Neji was on the other end of the sparring field. The explosion must have been massive to have knocked them down as well. "Hey Neji! Sorry for that. I didn't notice you were training on the other end." Naruto sheepishly replied, rubbing the back of his head. He noticed someone getting up from behind Neji. "Hinata! Oh Kami! Are you alright, Hinata! I'm so sorry, for that explosion. It was my fault. I'm so sorry" Naruto was visibly worried as he rushed to Hinata's side to help her up. 'Oh yeah, sure. For me its a sheepish grin. For Hinata, its a full blown worried apology' thought Neji as he saw the scene unfolding in front of him. Hinata gave Naruto a nervous smile, "Its alright, Naruto. Accidents happen. Nothing to be so worried about. I'm fine." She got up and looked at her jacket. It was ruined. She frowned and said, "Hmm. My jackets completely destroyed." She took of the tattered remains of her jacket and cast it aside. Naruto's eyes popped out, as he held a hand against his nose, desperately trying to prevent a nosebleed. Hinata's bulky beige jacket had hid her lithe yet voluptuous body. She was wearing a mesh armour underneath that clung to her body, highlighting each and every curve and feature that made her all the more desirable to the other sex. And her ample bosom that Hinata had hidden under her bulky coat, added to her appeal. Hinata looked at Naruto, unaware of the effect she was causing on him. "Naruto, are you sick? Your face looks very flushed. And what's wrong with your nose? Is that blood?" she asked worriedly. Naruto waved a hand, "Its ok, Hinata. After effects of the spar. Anyways, I think I should return back to the spar." he said hurriedly, trying to save his face. He rushed back to the place where they were sparring with Sasuke. Neji yelled back, "NO EXPLOSIONS".

Haku was sitting on the sidelines, looking fondly at her family, reminiscing over the improvements the group had as a whole since Jiraiya joined them as their Sensei. Neji and Hinata had kept their practice up with the _**Jyuuken**_. Neji had helped Hinata perfect the _**Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho**_, while he improved the _**Hakke Rokujuyon Sho**_ and created the _**Hakke Hyaku Nijuhachi Sho**_. It was a faster and more lethal version of the Hakke Rokujuyon Sho. Hinata and Naruto had progressed quite a bit on their Fuuinjutsu studies. Naruto was picking up Fuuinjutsu like a sponge. They were also going over the scroll that contained the Yondaime's famed _**Hiraishin**_ technique as they tried figuring it out.

_Flashback (1 month ago)_

"Well, what do you think?" asked Naruto as he showed the Hiraishin scroll to Hinata.

Hinata looked at it intently. "Ano, this is way too advanced even for me. And you said that even Jiraiya … I mean Ero-Sensei wasn't able to figure this out?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nopes, he knows it is transportation technique. And the only thing my old man told Ero-Sensei was that it utilized Space-Time continuum. Or something like that. Do you know what that means?"

Hinata looked at him wide-eyed. "This is a space-time ninjutsu? But then what is the use of the Fuuinjutsu?" Her face scrunched up as she tried thinking. She shook her head, "I can't think of anything." Naruto saw her and offered, "Well maybe if you explained this thing to me, maybe I could give you a fresh perspective to it."

Hinata smiled and nodded. For the next week, Hinata abandoned her Fuuinjutsu classes to Naruto and focussed on explaining the basics of Physics involving Space-Time and Space-Time Ninjutsu. After a week or so of Physics, both of them were back to the same spot, staring at the scroll. Naruto spoke up, "Ano, when you spoke of Space-Time Ninjutsu, I remember you explained Pocket Dimensions to me; dimensions that exist outside our Space-Time continuum. What is the seal is used to create such a pocket dimension and then we use that pocket dimension for instantaneous transportation."

Hinata looked at him, and then back at the scroll studying it, "Naruto, that is completely … ingenious. A pocket dimension. Wow! I never thought about that" Naruto grinned proudly at her compliment. Hinata continued, "I think we'll try creating a Space-Time Dimensional Tag first. We can keep comparing your father's notes and observations to understand whether we are going in the right direction or not"

_End Flashback_

Both had kept creating sealing tags to help advance their understanding of the Hiraishin. At the same time, Naruto had mastered the Rasengan. He had managed to complete it using 2 hands in a weeks time, and improved it to use 1 hand in another 3 weeks time. While doing this, he had kept practicing the Wind Jutsus that Jiraiya had got for him. Once he had mastered the Rasengan, he tried introducing elemental manipulation into the Rasengan post-haste. As of now, he had to use a shadow clone to add the Wind Nature to the Rasengan, but even then, the sheer destructive power of the Rasengan was becoming too powerful for him to control. Haku herself had been able to practice a couple of Suiton jutsu that Hinata had known, while borrowing a couple of Fuuton jutsu from Naruto to train in. Although Neji knew his elemental nature to be Earth, he said he would first like to improve on his Jyuuken skills before proceeding. Sasuke had improved quite a lot as well. He had been able to master a couple of the Raiton jutsu. To everyone's shock, he had copied the Chidori from seeing Kakashi use it on the bridge. Although Jiraiya thought it was a great technique to have in his arsenal, he was thoroughly disappointed in the way that Sasuke had achieved it. He made Sasuke swear on Itachi's honor, that he would never copy a Jutsu without the express permission from the person who wielded the jutsu.

A loud yell brought Haku back to the spar in front of her. Sasuke and Naruto were fighting each other using Taijutsu. Shortly after Jiraiya had joined the group as their sensei, he replaced the archaic weights with gravity seals, which were much more uniform and effective. Jiraiya had provided gravity seals to everyone but Naruto, whose seals were made by Hinata. To everyone's amusement, Hinata had to fight hard not to faint, when Naruto stripped down for her to draw the seal. Next it was Naruto's turn to be embarrassed when Jiraiya explained with a guffaw that the new gravity seals that Hinata had created only needed to be applied to the palms, shins and lower back of the individual. Anyways, the gravity seal did help everyone's performance increase as compared to when they were using weights. And from what Haku was seeing in front of her, the two were at each other with all their weight seals disengaged.

* * *

Naruto was trying his hard to get a hit on Sasuke for the last 5 minutes. Sasuke's defense was improving. Last time the longest Sasuke had been able to stave off a kick to his sides from Naruto was for 4 minutes and 31 seconds. And to add to his woes, his thoughts kept roving back to Hinata. He was having a hard time to keep himself from stealing a peek at Hinata. Sasuke had backed up quite some distance probably preparing for a long range attack. Not one to give him a chance, Naruto raced forward charging at Sasuke, who dodged at the last moment, cancelling the hand seals as he landed on the other side. Naruto whirled around, trying to roundhouse kick Sasuke, but froze. His eyes got fixated on the other end of the field. Hinata was busy sparring with Neji, and in an attempt to dodge a Jyuuken strike to her forehead, she backflipped. Her mesh amour had gotten loose from her belt and fell upwards (or downwards?) as she did a handstand. In doing so, her perfectly supple abs, glistening with sweat was exposed as was her lacy violet bra. Naruto's mind was filled with perverted thoughts about Hinata as she saw the scene in front of him. However, he couldn't ogle all that long as a kick to his guts knocked him down. Sasuke was shocked at this. He had never defeated Naruto before … never. He turned his face to where he thought Naruto was looking when he froze to see Hinata. Thankfully, Hinata had finished her handstand, so the free perverted show was over (an exclusive show for the lucky Naruto). Sasuke smirked as he went over to help Naruto up. He brought Naruto up and whispered into his ears, "Maybe, we should make a rule to not let Hinata be around when our leader spars. If our leader gets frozen so often, we may soon have to hold a funeral service for him" Naruto turned red with embarrassment, and began to stammer incoherently. Much to Sasuke's chagrin, the amusing scene was interrupted by Jiraiya.

"Oy Gakis. Get here. I have a mission that I need to discuss." Everyone gathered near Jiraiya. Jiraiya raised an eyebrow seeing Hinata. This was unnoticed by everyone save Naruto. Naruto gave a guttural growl, before he turned to Hinata and said, "Hey take this" He handed over his black and red jacket that he had been wearing (**A/N: Yes, Naruto has stopped wearing his god-awful orange jacket**). Hinata was a bit confused as to his actions, but didn't mull over it for long, as she accepted his jacket, draping it over her body. They turned back to Jiraiya who was pouting childishly. Neji spoke up, "Ok, so what is this mission? Did it come from your spy network?". Jiraiya had been using his spy network to gather information as well as get a couple of missions for the group. The general missions were reconnaissance and scouting missions, with a few retrieval and escort missions. None of them high paying. No assassination or frontal assault, yet.

"Yes. My spy network caught this mission for us. A simple escort mission. 2 people from Hi no Kuni to Uzushiogakure. You are to escort them and protect them against bandits and such. And finally at Uzushio, you are to help them retrieve a couple of documents they have. This is as much a mission as it is learning opportunity." At this everyone looked at Jiraiya incredulously. "Look, Uzushiogakure was one of the most powerful Hidden Villages at the time. The Uzu Shinobi were proficient in sealing. A lot of the seals that everyone uses had been created by Uzu. All in all, the Uzu libraries are a lifetime worth of information in Fuuinjutsu. Hinata can attest to that"

"Ano, I have been to Uzushio before this. Jiraiya-Sensei had actually found me and Neji Nii-san at Uzu and saved us from a couple of Jonins. I had seen a bunch of Fuuinjutsu scrolls." Naruto looked at Hinata, "But what were you doing at Uzu all alone?" Jiraiya interjected, "That is a story for some other time. Right now we need to focus on the mission. I think Hinata should be a part of the team since she has gained a vast array of skills on Fuuinjutsu. It would be an opportunity of a lifetime for her to get a hand on the scrolls. On top of that, she'd be best suited for protecting the client using her _**Shugohakke Rokujuyon Sho**_. And to complement her, we need a heavy hitter - Naruto." Both Naruto and Hinata perked up at this. This was the first time they were on a mission together. "On top of that, his mother's clan, the Uzumaki, were from Uzushiogakure. It'd be a good experience for him to get in touch with his roots." The rest of the group hid their smirk. Everyone knew about the kind of affection that Naruto and Hinata had for the other, but were hesitant to show it. Maybe this mission would help them open up to each other. And they were genuinely happy for them. Even Neji. Although he had a very poor opinion of Naruto from his academy days, his opinion changed 2 months ago when Naruto showed immense intellect in breaking apart the Jyuuken techniques discussing the strengths and weakness of the them, and deciding how to best use the techniques. Jiraiya looked at Naruto and Hinata, "Alright, you have an hour to get ready. Now put your back to it."

"Hai Sensei" they chorused. Just as they were about to leave for their rooms to get prepared, Jiraiya called out, "Oh by the way. What about the Hiraishin. Any advancements using the Pocket dimension." Jiraiya had been away from almost a week and a half. Naruto shook his head, "No, that didn't work out. The pocket dimensions are tied to each of the individual seals. If there were a way to merge all the pocket dimensions using the same seal into a single one, it would have been like entering the dimension via one seal at one location and exiting the dimension at another seal via another dimension."

Jiraiya thought about it, "But even then, if it were one single dimension, it would take time to move through the dimension, right?"

"Not really. The pocket dimensions are Space-Time pocket dimensions" Naruto said, stressing on 'time'. "The dimensions have been created to slow down time to an almost standstill. So, if I move through the dimension for a minute, time on the outside wouldn't have passed more than a fraction of a second." Naruto cheerfully continued. "But one good came out of it, the seals can be used to store and preserve objects without worrying about it aging." Jiraiya had a smug expression on his face as he proudly looked at his Student's son. 'Minato your son is surely going to surpass you.' Naruto waved back at Jiraiya, sprinting towards his room to get freshened up and packed.

* * *

"So, what's the report?" Tsunade asked. Her pink haired apprentice held out a report, "We have been able to successfully curb the viral outbreak. A total of 29 dead from the 8 villages that we had visited. A little under 4 casualties per village." she replied. Tsunade gave her a small smile, "Excellent work Rippuku. You and Shizune did par expectation. Both of you handled yourselves admirably in the face of a crisis, never letting the pressure get to you. I think both of you require a well deserved break. As do I."

Both of her apprentices looked at her with a disappointed look. "What? Don't worry I'm not going to go overboard. Just a little Poker and some Sake." Tsunade had her eyes on the little gambling den in the village. Both Rippuku and Shizune rolled their eyes. Rippuku spoke up, "If its alright with you, I think I'll take a quick look around. I heard the ruins of Uzushiogakure are pretty close by, around an hour from here." Tsunade looked at Rippuku darkly. "Don't even think about it. No one is going into that Kami-forsaken ruin. If you want go up to Higure point. You should get a scenic view of the ruins in the horizon. But under no circumstances are any of you to go even close to that place. Do I make myself clear?" Both Rippuku and Shizune were quite taken aback by their master's rising ire. "Crystal" they squeaked. Tsunade immediately released the KI she had been giving off. Shizune gathered her courage, "Why did you ask us to stay away from there, Tsunade-sama?"

Tsunade closed her eyes and rested her chin on her fisted hands. "Well firstly it is a ruin. So chances are you'll run into bandits and missing nins. But to be honest, the real reason is a bit farfetched if you think about it. But I'd rather not take any chances with my apprentices. Uzushiogakure was a very powerful hidden village. They were masters in Fuuinjutsu. In fact, they along with my grand-uncle, Tobirama Senju, had created a Fuuinjutsu that allowed the souls of the dead to be brought back to life, albeit requiring a sacrifice. It is said that Shinigami himself had cursed the village and its lands. Many believe that it is the curse which led to the village getting invaded by Kumo, Iwa and Kiri during the Second Shinobi World War. They may be superstitions, but one thing I know is that nothing good ever happened to those who visited those cursed lands. Death and despair follow those who set foot on those lands."

* * *

Naruto was walking beside Hinata. Both of them had placed Henge tags that Hinata had created on them. Hinata looked pretty much the same, but her pale lavender colored pupilless eyes were now transformed into silver colored eyes with a pupil of a darker shade. Naruto's hair was tied up in a scrunchy ponytail (**A/N: Like Shikamaru**). It was no longer blond but black. His whisker marks were gone. And his azure eyes were now deep brown in color. According to Hinata, once the Genjutsu tags had been applied to an individual for the first time, it would transform him into the desired individual. The seal on the tag would morph so as to capture the transformation completely and perfectly. So the next time, the user need only apply the tag and he/she would be transformed into the exact same person. On top of that, the tags themselves drain a minute amount of Chakra to maintain the Henge, so it would still be active when the user was sleeping. Naruto turned towards Hinata smiling, before he asked her, "Hey Hi … Tsuki, do you know any elemental seals?"

Hinata looked at him, frowning, "Yes, I do. Why do you ask? They are used for blocking or disturbing Chakra flow" Naruto grinned and continued, "Actually, I was wondering whether you could place a **_Gogyo Fuin_** over my _**Hakke no Fuuin**_. That way I can attain better Chakra control." Seeing Hinata's worried expression, he explained, "See, if I use the _**Gogyo Fuin**_ and seal of the Kyuubi Chakra, I would in effect be able to develop my own Chakra system without any influence of the Kyuubi. That way my personal Chakra reserves can be improved. On top of that, the Gogyo Fuin is going to disturb my Chakra control. If I can control my Chakra with the Gogyo Fuin, Chakra control normally would become like my second nature. Hinata's worries were not lessened. "Ano, Arashi-kun, what about the healing factor from the Kyuubi's Chakra? If you get hurt, the Kyuubi won't be able to heal you." Naruto waved his hand, "Ma ma! Its just bandits, we can handle them easily. Besides, I have you at my side. You'll protect won't you Tsuki-chan." Hinata blushed at the "-chan" honorific added to her name, and managed to nod. Naruto raised his jacket to expose his abs. Hinata blushed like a tomato seeing this, but managed not to faint, "Push some Chakra into the seal Arashi-kun." Naruto did as asked. The Hakke Fuuin seal emerged around his navel. Hinata drew a seal on top of it, while saying, "Gama-Sensei is able to do this without the seal drawn, because he has a good enough hold on all 5 elements. Since I don't have that, I'll have to use sealing ink to get the seal correct." Naruto numbly nodded. After another couple of minutes, the seal was drawn. Hinata reared her first, fingers extended, before embedding it into the drawn seal. "_**Gogyo Fuin**_" she yelled. Naruto had his wind knocked out, and fell down hard on his ass panting. Hinata rushed to his side holding out a canteen of water. "You'll feel a bit exhausted" Naruto nodded as he gulped down the water from the canteen. Before long, he was up on his feet as they resumed their journey. Naruto tried performing the Rasengan, but found out to his chagrin, that his Chakra control was way messed up. He couldn't even proceed past the first stages of Rasengan. He was able to generate a swirling mass of Chakra but he couldn't hold it for long. It would either explode, or he would have to let it go, that would cause a mini tornado of Chakra from his palms. He thought that it would make a good new technique as he tried increasing the power of the Chakra swirling outwards. The mini-tornado grew to enormous proportions, causing a lot of damage to the trees. He was unsuccessful in controlling the range and area of the cyclone though. Something he would have to work on.

It was almost nightfall when they reached the town. The town was on the outskirts of Hi no Kuni. Both of them made their way towards the rendezvous point. When they reached they were received by a young boy, not older than themselves. He had a black unkempt hair, but not as wild as Naruto's original blond hair. He wore a white kimono, while his left arm was covered in bandages. Naruto asked him, "Are you the client?"

The kid shook his head, "No, I am just his messenger. My guardian waits for you at his mansion. He is the one who requested this mission." He smiled at the duo. "By the way, my name is Sora. Pleased to meet you …" he trailed off. Naruto took the cue, "Arashi. My name is Arashi and she is Tsuki." Sora smiled at Hinata, "Tsuki, such a beautiful name; befitting a true beauty such as you Tsuki-chan" Hinata was a bit taken aback by the comment, but smiled nonetheless, fighting down a blush that crept its way to her cheek. Naruto noticed the blush and frowned. He looked towards Sora with disdain and hate. Naruto didn't understand why, but even though what Sora said about Hinata was true, he wanted to tear Sora a new one. 'Who the hell does he think he is?' Naruto's frown went unnoticed by Hinata, although Sora saw it and smirked. "Anyways, Arashi-san, Tsuki-chan, please follow me to the house."

The rest of the journey was uneventful. All three walked in relative silence. All the while, Naruto kept thinking of ways to kill Sora in the most painful way possible. 'I'll drop him into pit of scorpions. Suna is famous for those that have very slow acting painful poisons. Yeah, that would work just fine.' Before he could formulate any more ghastly ways to kill the brunette, they reached the mansion doors. Sora brought out keys and unlocked the door. They enter into a large room with a couple of other rooms attached to it. In the middle of the room, there was a large extravagant sofa. Naruto and Hinata made themselves comfortable as Sora went to get their client. The client soon arrived. He had white hair, not the silver color of Kakashi, but not as white as Jiraiya. He had a smug conceited smile on his face. He was wearing a red silk Kimono with black flowers on them, held together by a dark golden Obi. He looked at the two 'mercenaries' he had hired. "I thought I had requested for Ninjas, not ordinary mercenaries" he said looking at Sora. Before he could reply, Naruto spoke up, "We're Ninja mercenaries. Not ordinary ones. Our Ninja skills are par excellence. Believe it." The client looked at them stoically, "I see. Very well, if you're Ninja, we have nothing to say. Get freshened up and rest for the night. We'll move tomorrow". Naruto bowed low, "Thank you for your hospitality. I am Arashi and this is Tsuki." he said pointing towards Hinata. The client nodded, "Pleased to meet you, Arashi-san, Tsuki-san. My name is Mizuki"

* * *

Kano Shirahata was looking at the reports. He was furious. The Kiri rebellion was anyways falling apart. And top that, this had to happen. He looked at the one who brought him the report, "Jinzo, are you sure about these reports?" Jinzo nodded, "Hai Kano-sama. The 3 bloodline clans being protected by our rebellion were utterly destroyed by Leaf Nins." Kano closed his eyes, clenching his hand in fury. He was thinking about the people who had trusted him for protection and how he failed them. His musings were broken when he heard a female voice.

"I have my doubts. Why would Konoha nins do such a thing? And what do they gain from all this?" Kano looked to his beautiful Second-in-Command, Mei Terumi. "So what do you suggest Mei? Who did this?" Kano asked her. Mei shook her head, "I am not suggesting anything, just that I don't understand what Konoha will gain from this." Jinzo spoke up, "Kano-sama, if I may suggest, why don't we get the information from the horse's mouth. Lets get a couple of leaf delegates over and ask them."

Mei looked at Jinzo as though he had grown a second head. "What in Kami's name are you talking about. 'Get a couple of leaf delegates'. You make it sound like they are selling leaf delegates on the markets of Suna these days." Jinzo calmly continued, "We'll set up a meeting with a couple of leaf delegates and ask them for more information. Simple." Mei incredulously asked, "And pray tell me, why are the leaf nins going to accept any invitation to meet us rebels?"

Jinzo replied, "I have a plan. From all evidence it seems that this operation was something that was done completely out of Konoha … without the knowledge of the Daimyo. We'll ask the Fire Daimyo to act as moderator between the rebellion and Kiri forces. Both sides have suffered a lot of personnel as well as monetary losses. Both sides are prepared to pay a lumpsum amount, since at the end it would stop the recurring cost of drawing the war. On top of that, an extended war is not for the best. The Fire Daimyo is too greedy to let such an opportunity go to waste. He'd definitely capitalize on this. He'll send a group of negotiators from his personal court along with high ranking council members of Konoha. Since Yagura will also be there, they'll not risk bringing ANBU or other Shinobi to battle. It would spark off an international event. Once there you can definitely charge the leaf with these evidence that I've gathered." Jinzo ended smugly, pleased with his plans.

Mei was pursing her lips. Something didn't sit right, but she couldn't put a finger on it, Kano however seemed impressed with the plan. "Good plan Jinzo. I expect no less from you. I believe we can catch the leaf red handed and embarrassed in front of their own Daimyo. Ha ha! Brilliant, Jinzo, brilliant." Jinzo bowed, "Thank you sir. I'll make good with the plan and send the message to the Fire Daimyo as soon as possible. I'll also mention a large enough figure to get the Daimyo's attention." Kano smiled and nodded. He looked to Mei, who was frowning at the whole exchange. "Well? Spill it out Mei. What's bothering you?" Mei shook her head, "It's nothing Kano. My gut instinct is telling me that something is way out of place here." Kano shrugged nonchalantly, "Well wars are won by plans, not gut instincts." Mei simply nodded.

Meanwhile, Jinzo had made his way to a desolate area of the base. He looked around to confirm that he truly was alone. He brought out a round spherical device with a button on it. He pressed the button, and immediately an astral projection of a cloaked figure appeared.

"Mogura reporting, Hebi-sama. The mission is a go. Kano was sold on the plan" Jinzo told the projection smirking.

The astral projection laughed evilly in a snake like voice, "Ku ku ku. Excellent news Mogura. Soon, the rebellion will be all but history."

* * *

It was afternoon. The road was pretty desolate, except for 4 figures travelling down it. Mizuki, Sora, Naruto and Hinata. Naruto and Hinata were still wearing their Henge tags. Mizuki had a backpack filled with books and scrolls and other stuffs. Sora and Hinata were scouting up ahead, while Naruto was left grumbling with a huge backpack filled with rations and supplies. They had been on the road for almost 5 hours now. Naruto had proposed to settle down and have lunch, but his idea was shot down by Mizuki. He said that he needed to get to Uzu as soon as possible.

"What's the big hurry" asked Naruto as he walked alongside Mizuki. Mizuki sighed, "Well Arashi-san. My ancestral house in Konoha is being usurped by my cousin. He says that by all laws the house is his. He even had made a fake deed to get the house from me. When I challenged him in court, the court asked me to produce the original deeds for them to match against. Without the deeds, the court won't even let me present the case. And the deed is in Uzushiogakure." Naruto furrowed his brow at this. "You see my great-grandfather used to live in Uzushiogakure. The house in Konoha was more of an investment. But when Uzu fell, the deed for the house in Konoha got left behind. Now I must get that deed before the court assigned date." Naruto nodded his head in understanding. He turned his head onto the road ahead and frowned to see Sora speaking to Hinata, who was giggling. He felt his stomach turn, he felt pure unbridled hate towards Sora. He turned towards Mizuki and asked, "Mizuki-sama, what can you tell me about Sora?" Mizuki was a bit taken aback at the question. "Sora? Well … he's a good kid. Hard working. Intelligent. Smart. Although his parents sold him off to me as a slave, I looked after him and have grown to like him as a surrogate son." Mizuki's answer didn't help Naruto. He wanted to hear something bad about Sora. He wanted someone to tell him that Sora was evil. He didn't know why, but he couldn't think that he could be anything Mizuki told about him. "Hmph. I think he is a conceited bastard. Looks at everyone condescendingly. And he thinks he is cool. But infact, he is such a clod." Mizuki looked at Naruto with a raised eyebrow, "Conceited Bastard? Condescending? Well from the way he is talking to Tsuki-san and the way she is enjoying his company, I'd hardly say he is anything you say he is." Naruto glared at Mizuki and grumbled. Mizuki sighed exasperated, "Anyways, please leave me to my thoughts Arashi-san. I have a lot on my mind".

Naruto didn't have to be asked twice as he jogged ahead to catch up to Sora and Hinata. He held back a small distance from the pair ahead of him as he started thinking in retrospect. 'What is this feeling I have when I look at Hinata? Why do I feel so happy looking at her? I want to be with her all the time. I want to be the one to make her happy. I want to be the shoulder she cries on. I want to be the one who caters to her every wish. I want to be the one who wakes her up to see the first smile of her day. Why? Why do I want to be with her? What is happening with me?' He glanced towards Sora and felt his ire increase. 'And that Crap-Shit Bastard. Who the hell does he think he is? He is stealing Hinata-chan's smiles and time from me. Hinata … -chan. When did she become chan. Do I really like her? What do I like about her? Yeah, she's beautiful. That goes without saying. But is that all there is to it.' He pondered for a while, looking at Hinata. 'No. That's not it. She's kind, lovable, gentle, sweet. She makes me want to be a better man. She makes me feel complete. When I look at her, I feel that nothing in this world can make me happier. She's brighter than the sun, gentler than the moon. All those times we spent training with each other, they are the best times of my life. Better than the ones I spent with Itachi Nii-san and Sasuke; definitely better than the ones I spent in Konoha, better than any other day of my life. I want each and every day of my life to be like that. To be with her. I don't just like her for her beauty. I like her for being Hinata-chan. So, do I like her? No. I like Haku, Sasuke and Itachi Nii-san. But what I feel for her is more than that. I don't know why or how, but I think I love her.' Naruto smiled warmly at the epiphany he had. He looked at Hinata, his eyes glazed with unshed tears as he saw her. His face scrunched as his chain of thoughts continued, 'But she doesn't know me that well. From what Neji told me, she's nice to everyone. She may not know it but she made me feel special. I may be just a friend to her. What if she rejects me. She never rejected my friendship for me holding the Kyuubi, so maybe she won't reject my love. But what if she does? Kami! I need to think of something. But first things first, I am going to gut that snivelling worm'. He let out a scowl as he saw the Sora. He wasn't going to let Sora take his Hinata-chan away from him. Naruto walked a couple of steps closer to listen in on their conversation.

"... so I walk up to this huge ass Ninja and say 'You may be one of the finest Ninja, but you are a lousy tipper.'" Hinata giggled at this. This irritated Naruto. "This guy looks at me with eyes big a saucers-" "The weather is quite pleasant today, isn't it Tsuki-chan" interjected Naruto. Sora growled lowly at being interrupted. Hinata was a bit taken aback by Naruto butting in, but she simply nodded her head, "Hmm, that's true Arashi-kun. Its warm and sunny, but not scorching". Naruto smiled widely, "Yeah, what I wouldn't give for a cold bath" Sora was getting irritated. Hinata noticed this. All throughout the morning, she had been with Sora. At first, Sora was trying to be too friendly for her taste, but she was too gentle to simply turn someone away like that. So she unwillingly entertained Sora. Slowly she found him to be quite the funny guy. He was regaling her in his adventures and misadventures he faced when travelling with Mizuki. She would occasionally glance at Naruto who wa trudging with the supplies for the entire group alongside Mizuki. She has resigned herself to the idea that her attraction towards the blond powerhouse had been one-sided. He would never return her feelings. But that had never stopped her from crushing over him. Was it a crush? Or was it something more? She would never know, since it would never be reciprocated. Even during academy days (**A/N: Yes, her memory is that good, that she remembers that far behind. Our blond protagonist, doesn't have the same memory power**) he was always vying for the attention of the pink-haired student, Sakura. Sora's growl had brought her back out of her musings. "Ano Sora-kun, you were saying something" He smiled at Hinata, "Yes, before we were unceremoniously interrupted"

"Hey!" Naruto yelled, "I was just talking about the weather to Tsuki-chan. Not like you were discussing anything important." Sora snapped back, "Oh right! Like the weather is going to make her smile. At least my tales, brought a smile to her face, you petulant imbecile" Hinata decided to break this up, "Ano, please both of you stop fighting. Arashi-kun, thank you for informing me of the weather. Sora-kun, please continue." Naruto was hurt at how Hinata had brushed him aside. But he wasn't going to be one-upped by a brat like Sora. Sora resumed his tale, "Anyways, after that the guy lunged at me. And I had to fight him off. He was clearly Jonin level." Naruto interjected, "Hah! That's nothing. Once I had to fight 3 Jonins at the same time.". Sora was getting even more irritated at this, "Would you stop interrupting me?" Naruto and Sora growled at each other, looking like 2 wild bulls ready to charge and obliterate the other. Hinata had enough of this. "Arashi-kun. What's gotten into you? Stop behaving so childishly. Why don't you go ahead of us and scout out the road ahead of us." Naruto looked at Hinata with hurt in his eyes at being chased away by her. He leaped ahead of the group into the forest. As he left, Hinata noticed the hurt in his eyes, and felt really bad. She started berating herself for going too far on him. She was hardly paying any attention to Sora's misadventures as she was now focussed on her blond crush.

Naruto at first felt really bad. He thought that Hinata had outright rejected him. 'Hinata-chan really doesn't like me the way I love her. For her, I am just a friend, a teammate, a colleague. Nothing more. Damn it! No, I refuse to believe that. Its that Sora. That rat bastard is confusing her. He is trying to woo her by his heroic stories. I'll show that ass. I'll prank that teme and that'll show Hinata that he is a good-for-nothing loudmouth fake. Once she sees that, she won't be confused. She'll definitely notice me as the stronger of the 2. She'll definitely accept me." Pity how the male mind always thinks that the stronger ones woo the girls. Naruto, in all honesty, believed that. So he jumps up farther ahead in order to put some distance between the trekking party and himself.

"He he! I'll set up an explosive trap. Then I'll Kawarimi with the teme and blow the tag. That should shut him up. Where did I keep my tags?" He started searching for his low powered explosive tags. When he couldn't find any, he took out a sealing paper and drew an explosive tag on it. It was one of the first things Hinata had taught him when he started learning Fuuinjutsu. He drew the seal and blew on it to dry it off. Finally he pumped his Chakra into the seal, trying to gauge the best amount for a low powered explosive. He figured that he had put in just enough to blacken his face and burn off his eyebrows and some of his hair. Naruto laughed out thinking of the predicament of his victim. Unfortunately, Naruto had forgotten about the Gogyo Fuin, and had pumped in way too much Chakra. After getting the trap set up, he peered through the clearing to see his target. He saw him come some way up with Hinata in the front leading a brooding Mizuki. Hinata was on the other side of Sora, so if he performed the Kawarimi, he was sure that it would be Sora and not Hinata that would be replaced with him. He jumped back to the trap he had set up listening for footsteps. The moment he heard footsteps, he activated the tags timer, brought his hand up in a seal and Kawarimi-d with Sora.

The moment Naruto did that, he grinned mischievously and turned to right, where he presumed Hinata would be present. To his horror, there was no one on the right. He quickly turned around to notice Hinata and Sora looking back at him with a shocked expression. That is when it struck Naruto. Apparently, Sora and Hinata noticed some rare flowers on the edge of the road and they stayed back to pick them up, while Mizuki moved forward. Naruto had Kawarimi-d with Mizuki. All this happened within 2 seconds. The very next moment, an enormous explosion rocked the forest as all 3 of them were knocked onto their feet. Horrified at the events that transpired, all 3 of them rushed to the spot where the explosion occurred. They were instantly relieved to see an angry, fuming and semi-naked but alive Mizuki. All of his clothes were tattered beyond repair. He was singed a bit. But his travel backpack was completely obliterated. All his books and scrolls lay in the open burning or in ashes. Mizuki looked at Naruto with fiery eyes. "YOU MANIAC. YOU BLEW IT UP. All of my research notes and scrolls. And my precious silk Kimono. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING." he screamed at Naruto. For his part, Naruto took the scolding his head held down, mumbling apologies. "You stupid bakas owe me for all the losses you caused. He fumed out of the forest. Sora had brought out a spare kimono from his backpack and left after his guardian, but not before looking at Naruto and shaking his head in disappointment. Naruto brought his head up to look at a sternly gazing Hinata. "What was that Arashi-kun?" she asked, tapping her foot dangerously. He chuckled nervously, "A prank?" When Hinata's glare didn't wane, Naruto sighed "Well I wanted to prank that teme Sora for being such a stuck-up ass. So I made an explosive tag and kawarimi-d with what I thought was him." Hinata shook her dejectedly, "Arashi-kun, I didn't expect this from you. You endangered the client with this stunt of yours. To top it off, you pushed in too much Chakra; that explosion huge. We're lucky Mizuki-sama didn't get injured too badly. What possessed you to behave so childishly?" she said as she walked away. All Naruto could do was hang his head in shame.

'Shit! I screwed up royally. Hinata looked really disappointed in me. Man! This was a complete wreck.' Naruto thought as he looked around at the devastation. 'But how the hell did so much Chakra go into the seal. Oh Shit! The Gogyo Fuin! Stupid, stupid. My chakra control is messed up from the seal; that's why so much Chakra go poured into the seal. But then', he thought, brows knit in deep thought, 'How the hell did Mizuki save himself from such an enormous blast. There aren't any covers or solid protection against a blast of such magnitude. Also, Mizuki's kimono was in tatters. But there weren't any visible wounds. What's going on? His clothes indicate that he was hit by the blast, but why aren't there any wounds? I can't make heads or tails out of this. Something fishy is definitely going on.' His thoughts were broken by a glint that caught his eye. He made his way through the burning piles of books and scrolls. He tentatively took out a Kunai and sifted through the ashes of the pile where he caught the glint. He saw a metal band in the ashes, with the remains of what looked like cloth. 'This looks like it was in the travel pack that Mizuki was carrying.' Burnt threads clung to the red hot metal. Naruto brought out his water canteen and poured the content onto the ash pile to cool the metal down. Steam hissed when the water made contact with the metal as it cooled down. Once the metal had sufficiently cooled down, Naruto gingerly picked it up. It was no longer red-hot, but it was hot nonetheless. His eyes widened when he recognized the metal band. It was a Hitai-ate, with the symbol of the leaf village on it.

And a scratch mark running right through the leaf symbol.

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_A/N: Yup, a lot is happening in the chapter. Akatsuki's plan regarding the Rebellion, Mizuki and Sora, Naruto's epiphany. And some more as well. As for Tsunade, if you haven't made it out yet, the group is currently close to the ruins of Uzushio. I'll soon be bringing the Introduction Arc to a close, before starting off with the Invasion Arc._

_And I also alluded to 'Planet of the Apes' a bit. Did you find it? _

_For all those who don't know, I have been working on another story as well. I have already posted the first chapter and I'll post the next chapter in a couple of days. But after that I'm going on a small break off of writing._

_I apologize in advance, but I'll not be able to post for a some time. Maybe 2-3 weeks. But one thing is for sure; I'm not abandoning either of my stories. Just some issues I need to sort out._

_And please, please, please - Read and Review. Take a leaf out of the book of my star reviewers. Reviews provide me with the very life force needed to write more chapters._


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